Hand in Hand
by RedSnake
Summary: Rachel is tired of being on the bottom of the social ladder, so she does the one thing she can think of to increase her status, she tries out for a spot on the Cheerios. Faberry eventually.
1. Chapter 1

**Hand in Hand  
****Pairings: ****Quinn/Rachel****  
Summary: **Rachel is tired of being on the bottom of the social ladder, so she does the one thing she can think of to increase her status, she tries to become a Cheerio. Takes place after the first episode of season 2, but with one or two minor changes.**  
****Disclaimer: **Glee and its characters don't belong to me, not even a little.  
**Author's note:** This is the first time I publish a story and just a warning, I'm really not a writer. But I had this idea and thought that I would give it a try, and not just sitting here and reading all of your lovely stories.  
If you would be kind enough to point out what I can do better, I'd appreciate it. Also, I plan to continue this story, but let me know I you want that too, otherwise it will probably die after a couple of chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

Rachel was laying on her bed feeling completely devastated. First of all, she had broken up with Finn during the summer after learning that he in fact did lose his virginity to Santana (thank God that she herself never slept with him). Secondly, the Glee club hadn't had the change in status she was so desperately hoping for and now, thirdly, everyone in the club hated her for what she had done to Sunshine who, because of Rachel, now had transferred to Vocal Adrenaline. Even Mr. Schue was disappointed in her. No one in Glee had talked to her for days and she was more harassed than ever, sometimes even receiving two slushies a day. Rachel even resisted her urge to comment on everything during rehearsals and just sat quietly, alone in a corner, until she had to sing, and even then she was more restrained than usual.

She couldn't stop the tears that had started to run down her cheeks and since her dads were out of town, there was not a soul to comfort her now when she was in such dire need of some compassion and support. The only silver lining was that she had the whole weekend ahead of her to try and figure out a way turn everything around. Hours later when she had finally stopped crying, but had come nowhere close to a solution, she fell asleep in a restless sleep filled with nightmares of what was to come the following week.

* * *

Monday morning Rachel was determined and ready to face the week, because if everything went according to the plan she had come up with, her life was going to change drastically in just one week, and what is one more week of torture compared to being safe for the rest of her high school years. It was important though, that no one found out about her plan or else there were a impending risk of it all falling apart. It really was the only plan she had been able to come up with that didn't include transferring to a school in another state, and the plan was that she was going to be a cheerleader, a Cheerio.

This is why she was now always (secretly) observing the Cheerios whenever they practiced, taking notes and even filming them, and at one point she thought to herself that even Jacob Ben Israel would be proud of her if he found out, which of course she wouldn't allow him to do.

During the week she continued being harassed by the students and ignored by the Glee club, but Rachel had a purpose, and now when she felt that she could almost touch the finish line, nothing was going to stop her, so when she went home the following Friday, it was with a smile, despite a bag with no less than three sets of slushied outfits.

She spent the following weekend learning every step to every routine she had witnessed during the week and memorized it, and when she went to bed Sunday night, completely exhausted and sore in every muscle in her small body, she felt both nervous and excited about the next morning when she would take a spot on the squad. She doubted very much that Sue would give her more than a minute to convince the terrifying coach that she was good enough to become one of Cheerios, but that was the reason for her excessive stalking of their practices and her own steep learning process.

* * *

She arrived at school early and figuring that it was important to at least appear confident, she just walked into Sue's office and actually sat down in her chair, this would either prove to be a stroke of genius or the death of her. While waiting she went over her audition in her head several times and focused on taking deep long breaths to calm her nerves, Sue truly was a frightening woman.

After waiting for what seemed to be hours, she finally heard steps outside of the office and thought to herself that this was it, the moment that would either improve her life or destroy her down to a level that meant not transferring to a school beyond a 1,000 miles of radius would be out of the question.

When Sue walked in through the door and spotted the tiny brunette in _her_ chair she stopped and actually dropped her chin and while trying to find her words, she mimicked a fish by closing and opening her mouth several times. Rachel was quick to take advantage of the situation and took command by simply starting to talk.

"Good morning Ms Sylvester. You're probably wondering as to why I'm here, and the reason is that I intend to take a spot on your squad." Rachel had concluded that giving a long speech to the blonde would not be beneficial, so instead she had decided to keep things concise. Rachel's statement caused Sue to wake up and she instantly snapped back at the abomination still sitting in her chair and now had the nerves to demand to be a Cheerio.

"Are you out of your mind! You come in here, sit in MY chair and tell me that you expect me to just give you a spot on my squad! Are you on drugs or something! Is that what you losers do in William's pathetic, merry little club, drugs? Because clearly you must be high thinking that this stunt you're trying to pull would actually work." Sue screamed and turned red in her face, but Rachel just sat still and listened to Sue's outburst and waited for her to finish before getting up and walking around the desk to stand a couple of feet from the blonde.

"Of course not. I simply request a fair tryout like everyone else had to undergo, but I am certain you will be pleasantly surprised. If it's agreeable with you I am willing to do it after the Cheerios' practice this evening." Sue was quiet for a while, pondering the diva's request but when no answer came Rachel decided to play her strongest card.

"As I see it Ms. Sylvester, it's a win-win situation for you. If I am in fact good enough to become a Cheerio, I could prove to be an asset for you when working on winning yet another title. However, if I don't succeed, you, your cheerleaders and everyone else in this school will have something new to laugh about, the silly little singer who thought she was good enough to be a Cheerio. And most importantly, no matter if I succeed or not, you will be able to gloat to Mr. Schuster over the fact that his biggest star wanted to be a part of your squad, a fact that would certainly take him down a notch or two and put you at an even greater advantage over him in your ongoing battle." Rachel got quiet and watched Sue's expression. Sue's mouth twitched into a small smile, obviously thinking about Will's future reaction to this shocking event, all before giving the hopeful brunette an answer.

"When you put it that way, fine. I guess I could need a good laugh after a couple of hours watching a bunch of useless girls and this will no doubt crush William. I'll see you in the gym at six sharp, a minute late and you lose your chance. Is that understood?" Sue barked out at the now smiling brunette.

"Understood, _coach_." Rachel smirked and left the office only to be met with a fresh slushie in her face and roaring laughter. This didn't bring her down though. Instead she just smiled at the jock who threw the slushie, patted him on his shoulder and walked away towards the closest bathroom, leaving several students speechless and utterly surprised.

* * *

All of the Cheerios were surprised to find Rachel _Man-Hands_ Berry sitting on the bleachers watching them with a smirk on her face, but as soon as Sue arrived the diva was quickly forgotten by everyone except Quinn, Santana and Brittany, the only three Cheerios that was in Glee as well, who was all (except for Brittany) well aware that the tiny brunette was up to something, and that this something definitely wasn't a good thing. So throughout the entire practice Quinn and Santana glared at Rachel, constantly wary of her. Brittany on the other hand waved at the girl, thinking it was fun with some audience, however small it was, but when Quinn and Santana looked like they would kill her for waving, she did as her friends and glared at the brunette who surprisingly seemed completely unfazed by the trios' death stares.

After the practice was over and Sue had yelled at her cheerleaders for over twenty minutes about how much they sucked and that they would never win at nationals if they didn't stopped this pathetic excuse for what they called cheerleading and started listening to her orders. Before she let them hit the showers she informed them that practice tomorrow would be an extra three hours, and every following one too until they got their act together. It was safe to say no one of the girls said a word, too afraid of incurring the wrath of the older blonde woman.

During the practice Rachel's confidence had decreased immensely. Sure, she was fit, but she probably wouldn't last haft of what the Cheerios just had endured, let alone another three hours of it. She was twitching nervously in her seat when Sue turned around, and when the woman saw this she smirked and addressed the small brunette.

"Okay RuPaul, you're up! Last chance to run away with your tail behind your legs, or man up and take the consequences of your imminent failure." Sue looked even more pleased when Rachel hesitated, her eyes searching for the exit. However Rachel wasn't one to give up at the first setback when she had really set her mind on something, so she took a deep breath and faced Sue.

"Yes I am Ms. Sylvester. If you would like to take a seat, I am just going to start the music and then I'm ready to completely overwhelm you." Sue wasn't impressed by the girl's act of confidence, but took a seat and then pulled out a video camera and pointed it at Rachel and simply asked her to start. Rachel then pressed play and stood herself in front of her future coach and began the mash up (she had created this on her own) of all of the Cheerios routines she had witnessed during the previous week.

After a couple of minutes Rachel finished with a backflip and smiled a 10,000 watts smile á la Broadway, because being cheerful was important for a cheerleader, '_obviously_' she thought. She was utterly pleased with herself and if she was allowed to say so herself, she nailed her tryout. When she looked over at Sue she was taken aback by surprise. Because in front of her sat Sue Sylvester, camera still in hand, but with her mouth wide open, staring blankly at Rachel. She couldn't tell if this was a good or a bad thing. However, she had been so sure she had done an excellent job, but now she wasn't anymore.

After a couple of minutes Sue finally shut off the camera, closed her mouth and blinked, but still not being able to say a word. Eventually Rachel couldn't take it any longer and spoke up.

"Ms. Sylvester? May I inquire your thoughts on my performance? I believe enough time has passed for you to have decided if I'm good enough to be a Cheerio." Sue arose from her seat and took a couple of steps toward the brunette before taking a breath and telling her judgment.

"Well kiddo, let me tell you this. I am a woman not easily impressed, but take a look at my face..." Sue pointed at her own face, but Rachel couldn't detect anything different with it "... this is what I look like when I am. Don't let this go to your head, but the only one that has impressed me more with a tryout is one miss Quinn Fabray, so yes, you're in." Rachel immediately smiled even wider. "But make one mistake and you will lose that spot faster and harder than you thought even possible. Come to my office thirty minutes before tomorrow's practice to pick up your new uniform, congratulation, you are now a Cheerio." Sue then stopped, a frown appearing on her face.

"What about Glee? What are you going to do about that?" she suddenly inquired, and Rachel quickly replied.

"I will of course continue to be in, and captain, Glee club, but I am also fully committed to the Cheerios, so you have absolutely nothing to worry about." Sue smirked, thinking about William, and how he would react when she told him all this after the Glee club had their practice just before the Cheerios had theirs the next day. Realizing that Rachel was still in the gym her face hardened before the diva had time to blink and then started.

"NOW GET THE HELL AWAY FROM MY FACE YOU DISCUSTING LITTLE MIDGET!" Sue's sudden outburst startled Rachel, but as soon as she realized that she just wanted to show who was in charge and that this tryout, no matter how good it was, wouldn't give Rachel any advantages over her other girls.

Since Rachel wasn't very eager to infuriate her new coach mere seconds after her successful tryout, she quickly backed away and walked though the gym's exit, still with a bright smile on her face. When she walked down the halls of the school, all she could do was think to herself that her life was finally going to change, but she was oblivious to just _how_ much it was going to change, and the impact it would eventually have on her life.

Maybe, ignorance really is bliss...


	2. Chapter 2

**Hand in Hand**  
**Pairings:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Summary:** Rachel is tired of being on the bottom of the social ladder, so she does the one thing she can think of to increase her status, she tries to become a Cheerio. Takes place after the first episode of season 2, but with one or two minor changes.  
**Author's note:** Wow. You people are awesome. Six reviews within 12 hours of posting the first chapter, and twelve last time I checked, that's about twelve more than I expected.  
And because of this response, I decided that I had to get another chapter up here as soon as possible. So what was originally planed as chapter two will instead be chapter two and three. I hadn't decided on all the details, so to be able to post as soon as possible, I split it and added more stuff the the part I did have, most of the addition is of Brittany, because she's great. Next chapter are going to feature Rachel's first practice with the Cheerios, and their (especially Quinn's) reactions, and also a lot more Quinn.  
This update is going to take longer though, but if the response is anywhere near as good and plentiful as for the first chapter, I will honestly cut the update time with a couple of days.  
Finally, sore for the long note, I just had to tell you how grateful I am for you. And please, don't be afraid to tell me your thoughts.

* * *

When Rachel came home that night and told her fathers about the day's events they were less than pleased about what she was telling them. This led to a heated argument that lasted the rest of the night. They couldn't understand why she would willingly subject herself to be around so many of her tormentors several days a week, but Rachel insisted that it was a good thing. She even pointed out that she was well aware of the fact that the Cheerios wouldn't be thrilled when they found out and that they were more than likely going to harass her more than usual, but also that she was convinced that with time, they would accept her and make her one of them (this was also a good thing she explained, although her fathers couldn't see that either).

When it was almost midnight they decided to call it a night and with much reluctance, they also decided to let her try it out, however they asked her to be cautious, because even though _she_ was convinced that her plan would be successful, they certainly weren't. Rachel had a hard time falling asleep that night. Partly because she was, though she would never admit it, very nervous about the next day, but also because she was really worked up and angry with her fathers for not trusting her judgment. Like she had told them, she knew the girls were going to give her a hard time, especially Quinn and Santana, but if she were successful in becoming a little more popular and wouldn't get slushies thrown in her face all the time, a few weeks of their wrath would most definitely be worth it.

She eventually fell asleep, dreaming of the day when she would win nationals with both Glee club and the Cheerios, be friends with powerful girls like, again, Quinn and Santana, but also Brittany. And of course the fact that she would soon be safe from cruel nicknames, slushies and other forms of harassments. The wait was driving her crazy, and she wished she could just fast-forward a few weeks, but if she could do that, she might as well jump to when she had become a famous star on Broadway. Oh how she longed for the future.

* * *

The next day Rachel was wandering the halls, eyes searching for, well she didn't know what exactly, someone to talk to. It was hard for her no not being able to tell anyone about the fact that by the end of the day she would become a Cheerio, but it wasn't like she actually had anybody to tell this to since she didn't have any real friends. In spite of this, if someone had bothered to look, they would have noticed that the small diva, when walking around the halls, did so with a smug smile the whole day, and skillfully avoiding all students walking around with a slushie.

At one point when she rounded a corner to avoid Karovsky, she bumped into Brittany standing alone by her locker.

"Oh! Brittany, I'm terribly sorry, I didn't see you there. I was just trying to avoid-" Rachel began, but was quickly interrupted by the long blonde.

"That's okay Rachel. I didn't see you either, sorry I bumped into you." Rachel looked at the other girl strangely, she couldn't understand Brittany sometimes. She was stationary and couldn't possibly be the one to blame, but she decided to let it go. Before coming up with something else to say, Brittany continued.

"Anyway, you look happy today. Are you back with Finn or something?" Rachel couldn't help herself and laughed at the question.

"No Brittany. That's not going to happen, not now, not ever. It was the right decision to end things with him, and I've also decided to take a break from guys for a while. Instead I plan to put my focus on-" But for the second time she was interrupted by taller girl.

"Girls." Brittany finished for the diva, smiling.

"What! No! Why would you think that? I'm not into girls." Rachel quickly defended herself and looked around to make sure nobody heard what Brittany had said.

"That's too bad. I'm sure a lot girls would date you if you didn't wear those argyle sweaters with animals on them. I mean they are cute, but not sexy at all." The way Brittany was talking so bluntly about this topic, like it was the most normal thing in the world made Rachel blush profusely. She didn't understand where all of this was coming from but it was making her uncomfortable and her mind was racing a hundred miles an hour, desperately trying to come up with another topic. Then she just, very unlike herself, blurted out the only thing that came to mind.

"So, why are you just standing here? Shouldn't you be heading to your next class?" Brittany frowned and turned her head back at her open locker, staring blankly at all the books inside.

"I have no idea what books I'm supposed to bring to class. Santana usually helps me, but she had to run away to another class, leaving me here with all these books I'll never read or know what they are about for that matter." Rachel patted the blonde's back and smiled at her.

"Then why do you have to bring the books at all. I mean if you're not going to use them, why bring them?"

"Because the teachers are always saying that it's important that you bring your books to class, and besides, you carry a rape whistle don't you?" Brittany inquired.

"Yes, I do. But I don't see what that has to do with your books." Rachel furrowed her eyebrows and waited for the blonde to continue.

"Well, you're not going to use it, but you have it because it's the right thing to do, and that's why I always want to bring the right books for each class."

"Ah! I see your point. And I have to tell you that I think it's incredibly responsible of you. If you like, I can instruct you on which books to bring for your next class. All I need for you to do is tell me what class it is you're having." Brittany sighed and looked down at the diva.

"Couldn't you just had said you wanted to help me? That is what you just said, right?" Rachel looked down at her feet and a small blush colored her cheeks before looking up again and then smiled at the other girl.

"Sorry. Brittany, can I help you pick out the right books?" At this Brittany nodded and smiled, so Rachel continued. "So what class are you having?"

"Um, the one with all the oblong glass thingies, the colorful powders that you mix together, you know?"

"Yes, chemistry." Brittany nodded in acknowledgement. "Then you need these two..." Rachel reached into the locker and pulled out the correct books. "... and you probably need a notebook as well. Do you have one?" Brittany nodded again.

"Yes, I have a pretty pink one." She smiled and put the offered books in her bag and started walking away, with Rachel still by her side.

They were getting a few looks walking down the hall, which Brittany was completely unaware of, but she looked at Rachel who appeared to have something more to say, so she stopped and waited for the diva to gather her nerves. Eventually she faced the tall, blonde girl and asked her.

"Can you keep a secret?" The reply came quickly.

"No." Rachel's jaw dropped at the honest answer. "I tend to say things without meaning to. That's why San is always telling me to try and stay quiet." Rachel clearly hadn't been expecting this answer, but thinking about it, she probably should have. It was a well known fact that Brittany often just said her thoughts out loud, no matter how private they were.

"Okay then. Well it doesn't really matter because what I was going to tell you is that there will be a surprise at your cheerleading practice today, but I guess you will find out what it is at the same time as the others." Rachel looked a little disappointed. She wanted to tell someone so badly and Brittany would have been the ideal person to tell, since she was probably the nicest girl in school, and also one of the few persons who wouldn't have laughed in her face when telling what was going to happen later that day.

"I love surprises! I can't wait. Are you going to sing for us?" Brittany asked hopefully, but before Rachel had time to answer, Brittany spotted something and called out for this something's attention.

"Hi Quinn!" Rachel's face instantly turned white at the prospect of facing Quinn, and when the recently reinstated head cheerleader stopped just left of the diva, she had to grab her own hands to prevent them from shaking. Quinn looked down at her and snorted before directing her attention towards the other blonde.

"B, where have you been, and more importantly, why are you talking to _Man-Hands_?" Her voice was thick with venom, and Rachel tried making herself even smaller than she already was, but she was too afraid to move more than that in case any action would make the HBIC attack her. Brittany started to explain cheerfully.

"I was at my locker because I didn't know which books I needed for next class. Then I bumped into Rachel who helped me and then she told me that there is going to be a surprise at today's practice." Rachel panicked and all she could think was '_Oh shit shit shit! Quinn can't know. She would never allow it if she found out. I should have just listen to Brittany when she told me she couldn't keep a secret._' When she felt Quinn's eyes on her she quickly fixed her eyes on her feet, hoping the blonde would ignore the last part of Brittany's explanation. Quinn continued to look at Rachel for a few seconds and smirked when she saw the small girl shudder, it felt good to have that much power again.

Although Quinn was reluctant to admit it, she felt somewhat guilty for what she had done to Santana to get her spot as head cheerleader back, and everything else she had done to people (mainly Rachel), but at moments like this, it was completely worth it. To be honest however, seeing fear so clearly in someone's eyes was now more bittersweet, rather than exhilarating like it used to be. Nowadays, there was this nagging feeling at the back of her head that what she was doing was seriously wrong. During her pregnancy last year she had become nicer, even to Rachel, and she did like that feeling more, but it was far too much easier to be the HBIC and at the top. These feelings were the reason for why she hesitated though, and that moment gave Rachel some hope that the Quinn from last year wasn't as far gone as she feared, and she cautiously stole a glance at Quinn. The moment passed however and Quinn's eyes turned cold at the diva's insolence.

"Get lost Berry, this doesn't concern you." Rachel scampered away fast, happy that all she had got was one _Man-Hands_ and that Quinn hadn't asked about the surprise. She was also glad that, if only for a second, the Quinn she had come to enjoy the company of was still there, and she hoped that, maybe, just maybe, she could help that side of Quinn become the dominant one. Although she was to afraid to turn around, she heard Quinn gently telling Brittany off for being seen with her, and she felt guilt knock her in the chest. The only crime Brittany had committed was being nice to her, but she knew very well that that was one of the most severe ones at WMHS. She just hoped that things would change sooner rather than later after the revelation of her being a Cheerio.

* * *

During Glee club it was clear to Will that Rachel's mind was somewhere else, and it struck him odd that the girl was constantly sneaking glances at the three Cheerios. So he made a mental note to talk to her after practice. The longer this continued though, the more he couldn't shake the feeling that something bad (for him, and Glee, that is) was going to happen, and for a brief moment he wondered if maybe Rachel was suicidal. Maybe the increase of bullying towards the diva and the fact that no one in Glee talked to her anymore (not even Finn who, most of the time, was friendly and understanding towards Rachel) had driven her to seek out the three Cheerios after school and anger them so much that they would end up killing her. He knew of course that Brittany wouldn't do something like that, bud he wasn't so sure about Santana, and since Quinn got her sport back as head cheerleader, he had noticed that the old Quinn was on her way back, and that girl hated Rachel.

He was so lost in his thoughts that Puck eventually wondered if he '_had an aneurism or something_'. The prospect of him dying caused Rachel to stop looking at the cheerleaders and instead looked, with worry in her eyes at man, and Will took this as a sign that she wasn't going to try and get herself killed. Instead he carried on and passed out some sheets with the songs they would learn next.

Like so often was the case, the song choice didn't go well with the kids so Will had to use his most trusted way of convincing them that he had, of course, chosen a good song, namely rapping. Poor Will had no idea that the kids laughed behind his back every time he did this, because as Mercedes had once said, '_Mr. Schue is too white to even be listening to rap_'. That's not to say it didn't work tough. He always got his way, and this time was no exception. So the club practiced and continued to improve, and since Sam had eventually decided to join, they had a big enough group to compete, much to Will's relief.

* * *

When the practice ended Rachel left before Will had enough time to remember that he wanted to talk to her. Just outside of the choir room Rachel faced Ms. Sylvester who just told the diva to pick up her uniform at her office, change into it and then wait outside the entrance of the gym. Then the woman proceeded into the room to have a chat with Will she had been looking forward to since yesterday morning, when Rachel had convinced her to let her tryout for her squad.

"William! How good it is to see you this fine day. Everything going well with your pathetic group of misfits and four of my Cheerios?" Sue greeted him cheerfully. Will first didn't react to the fact that Sue had said _four_ Cheerios, and therefore just answered to humor the woman.

"Hi Sue. My kids are doing splendid, thanks for aski... Wait, did you just said _four_ of your Cheerios? But it's only Quinn, Santana and Brittany who are both cheerleaders and in Glee." Will looked confused and slightly worried. Sue smirked, this was going to be so much fun.

"Well William. It appear as just like that gay kid, the big black girl and that Hudson-boy, yet another one of _your_ kids has turned to me, savior of the losers, and you can never guess who it is this time." All the color in his face drained in an instant, and he kept repeating in his head '_Please don't let it be Rachel, Please don't let it be Rachel, PLEASE don't let it be Rachel._' When no answer came, Sue positioned herself inches from his face.

"No guesses huh? Oh well. This time it's the girl who happens to be your biggest star, one miss Rachel Berry." Sue gave herself a mental applause when she observed the look of despair on Will's face, and when he spoke, it was with a voice of an broken man.

"No, no. You're lying. Rachel would never do that. She hates you and all of the Cheerios, and they all hate her." Will refused to believe that Rachel would do something so foolish.

"All true, but apparently she felt gaining some popularity and being freed from slushie facials was worth it." Will sat down, realizing that this fitted with his earlier observations, and he started worrying. There was no way that Glee could survive without the diva. She was in high school and already better than most performers on Broadway. Sue cleared her throat to turn back his attention towards her.

"If you don't believe me you're more than welcome to make an appearance and see for yourself. I think you will be pleased to see the truth, or destroyed, it doesn't really matter to me." Knowing the battle was won, she just had to give him one last kick and leaned down and took a long sniff.

"Aaah! I love the smell of a broken man in the afternoon. And don't you worry, I'll take good care of her, make her into a real Cheerio." Then she left, dancing slightly through the door, leaving Will to his thoughts and broken dreams and hopes for New Directions...


	3. Chapter 3

**Hand in Hand** **- PLEASE READ AN!**  
**Pairings:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Summary:** Rachel is tired of being on the bottom of the social ladder, so she does the one thing she can think of to increase her status, she tries to become a Cheerio. Takes place after the first episode of season 2, but with one or two minor changes.  
**Author's note:** In this chapter Quinn isn't very nice to say the least (sorry for that), but please forgive her, she has her reasons. I think you can all figure out what they are, especially after reading this. Also, in real life I'm a really friendly person and just writing this chapter made me feel guilty, therefore the delay.  
I love that you review, story alert/favorite, you are amazing. Every time my phone signals a new mail and it's from you I become happy before even reading it, so if you can find it in your hearts to leave a comment, you know you will make my day, no matter what you write.  
My classes start the 17th and having four (4!) parallel classes is going to make it hard to find time to write. However I promise you at least one more chapter before that (unless something unexpected happens), and if you're lucky and help me with my motivation, maybe two chapters.  
Again, anything from you makes me happy so please comment, and I do take suggestions if you have any. I only have certain events and a direction, but could need some help with what more I can write.  
One more thing, please forgive both me and Quinn for this chapter, I feel awful for doing this to Rachel, but Quinn feels that she has to, to prevent herself from finding out what's in her heart.

* * *

Rachel was standing outside the door to the gym, dressed in the white and red Cheerios uniform, feeling more nervous than ever before. She looked down at herself and she had to admit that it felt strange wearing something that for so long had represented the one thing she loathed more than anything else, and honestly she missed her argyle sweaters already. She was also well aware of how sad that was after having only been wearing the uniform for 8 minutes and 32 seconds, but she felt safer in her normal clothes. She peaked into the large room, watching as the Cheerios walked in from the locker room, talking whilst awaiting the arrival of their coach.

Eventually Sue entered and looked sternly at the groups of girls currently chatting away with each other. Displeased with the lack of response, she called out.

"Fabray! Gather the troops, NOW!" Quinn immediately organized her cheerleaders in columns in front of Sue, all done with military precision. She then positioned herself in attention in front of the others and confirmed that they were ready, so Sue began.

"Ladies. There is going to be a change today. We have a new cheerleader joining, who unlike most of you and your sorry little asses, actually has some talent and even managed to impress me and will prove to be an asset to this squad. I know you will take good care of her and make her feel welcome." The girls started to look at each other, questioning with their eyes if anybody of them had the slightest idea of who this girl could be, but then Sue continued. "I believe you are all quite familiar with her, so without further ado, come out here and meet your new teammates, miss Rachel Berry."

"No freaking way!" Santana whispered as the short diva appeared in the sacred red and white Cheerio uniform.

As Rachel walked in, she took in the looks of surprise and shock on the girls' faces. Brittany leaned forward to Quinn and whispered.

"Look Q. Rachel isn't wearing argyle anymore. Doesn't she look better like this?" Quinn didn't reply, too busy fuming. It was then that Rachel noticed Quinn and the sight caused her to stop and swallow loudly. The blonde girl looked furious and actually started yelling at her coach.

"Ms. Sylvester, this is completely unacceptable! There is no way RuPaul can be a Cheerio! She's a dwarf-sized diva and not to mention the biggest loser in this school, in the whole state even!" Quinn was seething, but Sue wasn't being put off by this, so she explained.

"All very true miss Fabray, but you didn't see her when she tried out. She was almost as good as you and better than all of the others, she's in. SO DEAL WITH IT!" Quinn clenched her hands into fists and then spoke slowly with anger dripping from every word.

"Fine then. However as she captain of this squad I feel it's my duty to have a word with her, before she makes any final decisions." Sue nodded her head to verify that this was okay. So Quinn walked towards the diva with determined steps and when she was in arm's length she grabbed the brunette's hair and started dragging her by it toward the locker room. Rachel was at first too shocked to do anything but follow, but soon she started to scream due to the pain.

"Ow ow oww! Quinn, you're hurting me! Please let go, OWW!" However Quinn was completely unfazed by the other girl's plea and instead addressed Santana.

"S, lead the warmup. I want everyone ready when I come back. Is this understood!" She screamed out the question and Santana instantly nodded and started to yell out commands, while also discreetly peaking over her shoulder at the two girls who by now was disappearing through the door. She and Quinn was still not back to being the friends they used to be but she was smart enough to not start arguing with the blonde at this point.

* * *

Quinn threw the door shut after she had dragged Rachel in with her. She then, still dragging the diva by her hair, slammed her into the nearest lockers and stood herself inches in front of Rachel's face, with pure fury in her eyes. Rachel was freaking out and her whole body was shaking with the fear Quinn was educing in her. Too frighten to look Quinn in her eyes, she instead tried to look down, but the only thing that met her eyes there was the cheerleader's body, and although Rachel was completely confident that she was straight, it felt immensely wrong to be looking at Quinn's body at this point, regardless of how personable it was, and it truly was she added in her head.

So Rachel decided to look up again but tried to look as far to her left side as she could, but Quinn grabbed her chin and turned it towards her. Rachel's response was to close her eyes, but this didn't sit well with the blonde.

"Oh no you don't, _freak_! You're going to look me in the eyes and listen to what I yell at you." Still holding Rachel's chin tight, she waited until the girl hesitantly opened her eyes and then locked eyes with Quinn. The blonde could see clear panic and tears starting to appear in the diva's eyes and this caused her to, again, hesitate. So she took a couple of deep breaths while glaring at the other girl, trying to figure out her next cause of action. When Rachel started thinking that the girl might have died from the anger, Quinn spoke, or rather yelled.

"Look, I don't know what your problem is _Treasure Trail_, but your last screw most have fallen out if you for even one second think we're just going to accept this! You think that just because you're wearing our uniform you'll become one of us and people are going to stop hating you! And you really think I'm going to let you touch my Cheerios with your disgusting man-hands?"

Rachel was just staring at the blonde girl, wise enough not to try and answer any of her questions. In fact, she didn't even breathe, to afraid to piss the other girl off even more. Quinn, oblivious to the brunette's inner turmoil, was still screaming her lungs out. It didn't really matter what she was screaming, she just had to make it clear that Rachel wasn't welcome and, of course, that she hated her, that last part was the most important.

"You do realize that absolutely nothing is going to change just because of the uniform? Sure, you won't get slushied while wearing this, but it does not protect you from everything else, and believe you me, if you go through with this, things will get so much worse for you. You're going to miss the days when all you got was a slushie in your face and a few mean nicknames." Quinn was subjecting Rachel's jaw to even more pressure and a single tear ran down the diva's cheek.

Quinn's stomach clenched from the guilt, but she knew that she couldn't show any weaknesses, more for her own sake than the Cheerio's. Then out of nowhere, Quinn's face softened and she started to talk calmly.

"You know, if you wanted people to stop hating you, you could have just stopped being so obnoxious and uptight all the time. Start wearing normal clothes and when you talk to people, don't make them feel inferior by telling them everything that they, according to you, do incorrectly" Rachel was stunned, in the middle of all the yelling and insults, Quinn had given her some friendly advice. Sure, she had basically told her to change everything that made her her, but still, immensely impressive considering the situation.

Quinn had silenced after this, giving Rachel some time to process what she had told her. She had also lessened the force with which she held the diva's head in place, but her hand was still on her.

However Rachel had during the silence started to full out cry. She was still terrified of the blonde, but now also utterly confused and moved by Quinn's actions to a point where she couldn't hold back the tears.

After another couple of minutes with a word being said, Rachel finally spoke.

"Although there is some validity to your suggestion; even if I did change all those things about myself, I still have two gay dads and that alone would be enough for you and the others to torment me." The reply was instantaneous.

"I don't care about your fathers!" Quinn said with emphasizing on the plural form of the word father, then she continued. "I only care about you..." The second part had passed her lips before she had been able to stop herself. Rachel instantly stopped crying and gaped at the blonde who herself had widened her eyes in what almost looked like fear. Rachel hesitated for a few seconds before slowly starting to speak, or more accurately stutter.

"Y-y-you c-care about m-me..?" Rachel couldn't believe her own ears, could Quinn, HBIC and her personal tormentor, Fabray really cared about her? Quinn no longer held her eyes on Rachel's, but rather everywhere else when the brunette's word made her realize that she was on very thin ice, so she did what she always did in compromising situations, she let her inner, very angry bitch take over.

"Are you fucking CRAZY! You actually think I care about you!" Quinn screamed while shooting arrows with her stare.

"Well you did say that you do..." She wasn't allowed to continue though, because Quinn wasn't finished.

"I know perfectly well what I said, but what I meant was that I hate you regardless of your two gay fathers! FUCK!" Quinn had now released Rachel and was pacing in front of her, constantly swearing and screaming. Rachel was following the other girl with her eyes and holding her breath, waiting for her next move. She didn't have to wait long though.

"FUCK! You can't keep messing with my mind like this, it's too confusing... this ends NOW!" With that last exclamation she drew her hand back, and launched it towards Rachel. The diva screamed with as much force as her lungs allowed her, which as everyone knows, was a lot. Time was slowing down as Quinn's fist came closer and closer. Rachel didn't even have time to close her eyes, which was probably a good thing, because if she had closed them, she wouldn't have seen Quinn's fist fly by her head, maybe as little as two inches from her, and slam into the locker next to her.

The crash from the impact was so loud it could have been from a rifle. Rachel began breathing shakily as she turned her eyes to the fist still connected to the metal locker door. Quinn hadn't even flinched when her hand had hit the metal and when Rachel caught sight of it, she could see some blood but also a wrecked locker door. The dent was as big as her head and probably almost an inch deep. If Rachel had been able to create even the simplest thought, it would have been that she was incredibly impressed with Quinn's toughness and strength and thankful it wasn't her head, but at this point she was beyond shocked to accomplish anything except breathing and taking in Quinn's bleeding hand.

* * *

Outside every single one of the cheerleaders, and Sue, jumped at Rachel's scream and when they heard the bang, several girls, including Santana, took a couple of steps back. Brittany however walked over to the Latina and hid herself behind her friend and whispering into her ear.

"San, do you think Q is killing Rachel?" Santana was staring on the door to the locker room, seemingly contemplating if this could be the case. She would be the first to admit that she hated the annoying little diva, but she didn't really wanted her dead, and definitely didn't want Quinn to commit homicide. She peaked over her shoulder at Brittany and whispered back.

"I hope not B, but I think she might." Brittany tried to make herself as small as possible before asking her next question.

"Why don't you stop her?" Santana's eyes widen at what would happen if she did.

"Are you crazy! I'm not going in there. She would kill me too." She wasn't really mad at the blonde, but that was one shitty idea.

"I'm scared San." Brittany breathed out.

"Me too B, me too." Santana replied while stroking the other girl's hair.

* * *

Rachel had finally composed herself to form words.

"Q-Quinn... your hand is b-bleeding. You need to clean and plaster it."

"Fuck you Berry. I don't need your help and I'll make sure you're going to regret the day you first stepped into this school." At this she pulled out her phone and started typing and when she was done she grabbed Rachel's hair again and led her towards the door. When the pair reached it, Quinn open the door with a kick, grabbed the hem of Rachel's skirt and actually lifted her before throwing the small brunette several feet into the gym, before walking in after her. The other cheerleaders taking additional steps away, watching wide eyed at the scene.

Rachel immediately started crawling towards the other girls until she had enough momentum to get up and starting to run instead. The other Cheerios looked even more terrified when Quinn neared them; they had never seen their captain like this before.

Figuring she had to put a stop to this before Quinn murdered the other girl, Sue spoke up.

"You alright there Fabray?" Sue asked, looking at the girl's hand.

"Nothing I can't handle coach. Now, are we getting started or what?"

"Yes, let's do that as soon as you have taken care of your hand. You know I don't tolerate stains on my uniforms." Quinn was gone a few minutes and when she returned Sue barked out her order. "Okay ladies! Begin with routine 246-Beta and show the new girl how it's done." Hesitantly the girls began lining up and showing Rachel how it was done. Rachel knew she had to pay attention but she was still to shaken up to function properly, but when Quinn caught Rachel peaking at her, she screamed at her to concentrate. Rachel immediately complied so that she wouldn't anger the blonde even more.

* * *

Just like she had suspected, Rachel wasn't strong enough or had enough stamina to handle the physically torture of the routines and after awhile she started to feel dizzy. Then she felt her stomach turn and so she quickly ran to the nearest trashcan, barley reaching it before she started emptying the content of her stomach. Several of the girls made noises of repulsion, while others laughed at her. Quinn marched over and when Rachel had finally stopped, she grabbed the brunette's ponytail and pulled her up.

"Finished?" Was all Quinn asked and Rachel nodded so the blonde pulled the diva's head all the way up. This was when Rachel saw Mr. Schuester looking through the window in the door, his face pale and sickened by what he had witnessed for the last couple of minutes. Will looked on with disbelief when Rachel turned her head from him and walked back to the other girls to continue the routine they had been practicing before the interruption. He could only interpret this as Rachel making her choice, and it horrified him. So with one last look, he started walking away not knowing what he was supposed to do now.

Unknown to either of them, Sue had been observing Will and was utterly satisfied when Rachel had chosen to get back to the Cheerios instead of explaining to the man so she stood there with a smirk on her face, feeling happier than she had in a long time. She was certain that the man was going somewhere to cry, her heart rate picked up by just imagining the sight.

* * *

Rachel had somehow managed to survive the rest of the practice, but as soon as Sue ended it, she laid down on the floor, breathing heavily while the others went to the locker room. Sue stepped over to her and leaned into the brunette's field of vision, with a smug smile.

"Well Stubbles. That wasn't too bad, far from good obviously, but not bad. However your condition is ridiculous. That will have to improve in a very near future or you're out. Understood?" Rachel nodded weakly and between breaths, she panted out.

"Yes coach..." Rachel then struggled up and slowly walked to the locker room to shower.

When she got in she found all the other cheerleaders standing in a U-shape, with Quinn in the opening. Rachel stopped, wary of them, but she then found herself pushed by Santana who had been hiding behind the door. Once she was in the middle of the group with Quinn, the others formed a circle instead. This made Rachel even more nervous and then Quinn stepped close to her with a mischievous smile.

"Please strip sweetie!" Was the single command she gave the brunette. Rachel gaped, unable to process the situation. Quinn soon grew tired of waiting and spoke again.

"Didn't you hear me? Strip!" Rachel closed her eyes to prevent tears from starting to run down her cheeks and then very quietly spoke.

"Are you going to rape me or something..?" Most of the cheerleaders started to laugh but when Quinn rose her hand everybody stopped.

"No. We have other plans for you, now STRIP!" Rachel hesitantly started to take of her uniform, first the top and then the skirt. However when she reached to unhook her bra Quinn stopped her.

"No need for that. No one here wants to see you naked." More laughter filled the room and Rachel stopped. Quinn then picked up the uniform and left with it before taking her place in the circle.

"Girls, begin." At this every single one of them pulled out a slushie each, that they had apparently been hiding behind their backs. This was probably why Quinn had sent away a text earlier Rachel thought, to organize this. Then one of the girls walked up to her and poured the slushie over her head, giving her a smirk before taking her place again. Then the next girl did the exact same thing, and so it was repeated until only the three most powerful girls were left, Brittany, Santana and Quinn.

Brittany was the first of the trio to walk towards Rachel, who by now was completely covered in the icy syrup and was standing in several inches of it. After the first girl Rachel had lowered her gaze to the floor , but when Brittany reached her she looked up, pleading with her eyes. The blonde sighed and mouthed '_Sorry_' before pouring the substance over the girl, making sure to miss her with most of it, an act that didn't go unnoticed by the diva.

Next was Santana who pulled a little at the hem of Rachel's panties so that she could pour it into her panties, both front and back. Rachel was shivering from the cold but had managed to not start crying, that is until Quinn got close. Rachel lost it and started to cry hysterically, pleading to Quinn between sobs.

Quinn was close to breaking down herself. She was disgusted with what she had ordered and she felt like the worst person alive. But she knew that it she didn't go through with it, questions she neither wanted to be asked nor answer was going to hail over her. So she lifted the cup over the Rachel's head and slowly let it flow over her, making sure the girl got a lot of it over her face. When the cup was empty she positioned it upside-down on Rachel's head and started talking.

"Now, you're going to stand here until the rest of us are done and have left. If the cup falls or you move there will be hell to pay, got it?" Rachel slowly nodded, making sure the cup wouldn't fall. Then the rest started to take of their clothes and walking to the showers, leaving a frozen Rachel alone, crying but standing perfectly still. Then Brittany came up to her with a towel and an apologetic smile.

"Here, take this and dry yourself of before you get sick." Brittany offered. Rachel slowly shook her head and replied.

"No thank you. Quinn will kill us both when she finds out, just hurry and get ready if you would be so kind. I want to get home as soon as possible." Brittany sighed and looked sadly at the other girl.

"Fine." But before she rounded the corner to the showers, she turned around and address Rachel again. "She's dealing with something that is very hard for her and unfortunately she's taking it out on you. I'm not sure what it is yet, but I can see it in her eyes, and I think it has something to do with you." With those words she left, leaving Rachel to wait until everybody had left to go home.

* * *

All the Cheerios left at the same time and on the way out Quinn turned off the lights and pulled out the key needed to activate the gym's lights. So Rachel was left alone in the dark to take of her ruined underwear and taking a shower. During her wait for the other girls to finish, the syrup had dried up, coloring her skin with its many shades. It had taken almost an hour in the ice cold shower before she had removed all the residues she could see in the dark and then she could finally get dressed.

She had cried the whole time under the stream of water and even more once she realized she didn't have any clothes with her, the most warming item was an argyle sweater she had brought with her just in case. Rachel had no choice but to wear her uniform again, hoping nothing was left on her body to stain it, and pulled the sweater over the red and white top and went home.

When she finally got home she ran passed her dads, up the stairs and into her room, instantly locking the door and throwing herself onto the bed and started crying yet again. Her father's had stood outside of her room for almost three hours that night, trying to get her to unlock the door or at least talk to them, tell them what had happened. But Rachel just cried, not wanting to talk to or see anyone. What the Cheerios had done to her today had been the worst and most humiliating experience of her entire life, and she started to doubt that her plan would ever succeed.

She didn't get more than perhaps 45 minutes of sleep that night, to occupied with crying and sobbing loudly, unaware that at the same time, another girl in Lima was doing pretty much the same thing, but for her the reason was for causing it rather than experiencing it...


	4. Chapter 4

**Hand in Hand**  
**Pairings:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Author's note:** I'm not very pleased with this chapter, I rewrote it four times before this, I just couldn't get it the way I wanted to. But I did promise a chapter before the 17th, so I did my best, but it should be considered somewhat a filler. Because I'm not pleased, I'm currently on my bare knees, begging you not to stop following this, next chapter should be back to normal standards. As I told you last time, school starts up so it's going to be hard to find time to write, but (again) don't give up on this, because I'm not. I'll write anytime I have time, and the first week is usually slow so there's a great chance that I'll get another chapter done before the 24th. That chapter will feature the first Glee practice since Rachel joined the Cheerios, and therefore the inevitable confrontation between Will and Rachel.  
I also want to take the time to express my gratitudes towards **Sarah Lestrange** and **Music and Reading Lover**, because both have reviewed all chapters so far, can't tell you how much that means to me. It does not mean that I don't love all the other reviews I've got (and story alerts and favorites), they're all awesome and I would love it if you continued with your feedback, please...

* * *

Quinn took one last look at Rachel. The girl's skin was colored by the massive amount of slushie, she was quivering from the cold but remarkably, the cup was still on the diva's head. She felt nauseous about what she had done, but she kept telling herself that the best course of action was to follow her plan through. So she reached over to the switch and turned off the lights and also taking the key to the power switch with her so Rachel couldn't turn the light back on.

When Quinn got home a little while later she went directly to her bathroom and threw up. She had felt queasy since she left Rachel in the dark locker room and when she got home, she just couldn't hold it down any longer. She couldn't understand how she could have done something like this to another human being and she felt devastated. Once she emerged from the bathroom she laid down on her bed, face burrowed in her pillow.

While lying there she started thinking about Rachel, trying to imagine what she was doing and feeling at that moment and with those images in her mind she started to cry. She also wondered if Rachel would be able to pick herself up after today; she was after all the strongest and most confident person she had ever met but what she had done to the brunette today was extreme.

She didn't even know if she wanted the brunette to come to school the next day. On one hand she wanted her to be able to rise from the ashes like she always does, but on the other, school was probably the last place she should be in tomorrow. There would be constant reminders of what had happened to her the prior day and as if that wasn't enough she would also have to deal with the rest of the kids in school. They were more than likely to bombard her with looks of disbelief and questions when they saw her in the Cheerio uniform and she shouldn't have to face that while still recovering from the humiliation.

Quinn couldn't will herself to eat that night because just thinking about food made her want to throw up again. When she didn't show up for dinner her mother went up to her, and when she asked what was wrong Quinn just shrugged it off as an upset stomach caused by stress from school and cheerleading. During she short exchange Quinn had to focus all of her willpower not to cry, but her mother could clearly see that she had been crying and that she was fighting to hold back more tears. The older blonde desperately wanted to have a more open relationship with her daughter but she was also well aware that something like that would take time to develop, and they just weren't there yet. Instead she left her daughter alone, but before she did, she told her that she was there for her if she needed something.

As soon as her mother left, Quinn started crying again, and she continued throughout most of the night. She still hated Rachel though, of that she was certain and she wanted, no needed to make it clear to the diva that the squad wasn't just going to accept her with open arms. These thoughts just made her feel queasy again and she had to run into the bathroom to puke once more. How she could even consider to continue tormenting the poor girl after today was beyond her comprehension. However this thought was still less scary than the alternative, looking into her heart and soul to see why she really was doing all this.

* * *

Rachel was jogging over the school's parking lot. She only had about four and a half minutes before her first class started and being late was not tolerable for the diva. The reason she was late was because she couldn't decide what she was going to wear. She had the alternative to take the easy way out and wear her normal clothes, quit the Cheerios and continue being on the bottom for the rest of high school, but she could also decide to take on her newly gained uniform. This choice was a frightening one, but if she could somehow see her plan through she knew it would eventually prove successful. Rachel wasn't one to quit, no matter what obstacles she faced so when she finally pulled up her red skirt and pulled the top with 'WMHS' over her head she knew she had made the right decision.

Because of her inability to make up her mind she now found herself running through the almost empty halls, not noticing the odd stares she got from the small number of students still not in class. When she got to the door and opened it the room fell silent within a fraction of a second and every pair of eyes was on her, which caused her to halt and look around cautiously.

She could see several of the kids gape, but still not making a noise, and even their teacher was staring quietly. Rachel also noticed Quinn who actually looked a little impressed, Santana who was gaping like the others and Brittany who smiled and waved. The diva hesitated for a moment but then turned to the teacher.

"I'm sorry I'm a little late, I... encountered some difficulties this morning." It then took several seconds before an answer came.

"Don't worry miss Berry. You're actually right on time, please take a seat and we'll begin." Rachel nodded and took the only seat available, next to Quinn who only raised an eyebrow at the diva. After yesterday this simple act scared her beyond no end so she tried to make herself small and hide behind a notebook. Quinn snorted at this act and looked ahead, focusing on the teacher who without much luck tried to direct the student's attention towards her.

* * *

Overall the lesson was a complete failure. Few of the students listened and instead kept stealing glances at Rachel and her cheerleader uniform, and when the bell rang people kept staring at Rachel while leaving the room. Deciding it was time to take action, Quinn snapped her fingers towards Santana and Brittany and pointed at Rachel. The two cheerleaders quickly walked up to the diva, grabbed her and pulled her out of the classroom, to more surprised stares and whispers. Rachel tried to get away, but then the girls lifted her instead so that she was running in the air.

They continued leading Rachel while following Quinn to the nearest bathroom and once they entered Quinn scared away the girls inside, before Rachel was pushed into a wall and was surrounded by the trio, Brittany on her left, Santana on her right and Quinn in front of her. Rachel looked around nervously at the three girls and she was well aware that there was no escape from whatever Quinn was planning on doing. After a minute of silence Quinn spoke up.

"Okay, listen and listen good, _dwarf_. You apparently decided that you're going through with being a Cheerio so here's what you need to know." Quinn paused and made sure Rachel was listening. The brunette was too afraid to look any of them in the eyes and instead concentrated on reading '_WMHS_' on Quinn's chest over and over again as to not let her eyes wander and show her fear to the others, but gave the blonde a nod, so Quinn continued. "Now that you are a Cheerio and are wearing our uniform no one will slushie you again, or at least while you have it on you..." Quinn smirked and Rachel drew a deep breath, afraid she would have to strip for a second time. "Everyone knows not to stain Ms. Sylvester's uniforms." Brittany added helpfully before Quinn started talking again.

"Just the fact that you are a Cheerio is going to stop many from harassing you, but you should know that none of us want you on the squad and we're going to continue to make you aware of this. We won't stop tormenting you and we're never going to like you." Rachel nodded in understanding, but just the fact that Quinn was telling her that she would be safe from slushies and most other bullying meant her plan was going to work and she allowed a small smile to appear, hidden from the others since she was till reading the text on Quinn's chest. Then, with a deep sigh, Quinn started talking once more.

"No matter how much we dislike you though, it's important that the rest of the students think of us as a strong group, so you're going to sit with us at all times." This caused Rachel to look up in surprise. "You will be allowed, and required to sit with us during lunch, glee, classes and other events. This does not however give you the privilege to speak to us, or even around us at all for that matter. You will only do this when you are addressed and if someone gives you an order you will carry it out like if it was from me. Are we clear on this?" Rachel looked Quinn in her eyes and tried to read her, but the blonde did an excellent job at hiding her inner feelings, so the diva nodded and whispered.

"Yes Quinn." Quinn smiled, but not with joy and then walked away. Then Santana grabbed the diva's shoulder, gave it a fierce squeeze and said.

"See you at lunch _stubbles_, and enjoy this while it lasts." She smirked at the pain she caused the smaller girl before walking over to Quinn who was waiting at the door. Before joining her friends Brittany leaned forward and whispered.

"I know Q, she'll come around, you just hang in there." She then started walking away, but when she reached the other two she turned and addressed her again.

"And by the way, you look much better in that than in your normal clothes, doesn't she Q?" Quinn looked horrified that Brittany had asked _her_ that but quickly regained control over her emotions again.

"Whatever. Let's go." The trio left leaving Rachel alone to collect her thoughts. This had after all turned out much better than she had hoped for. So she wasn't allowed to talk to them but that could change and she felt like she had been permitted to take one giant leap to becoming friends with them _and_ a little popular.

* * *

When the three girls emerged from the bathroom Santana gently grabbed Quinn's arm and made the blonde face her. She looked a little apprehensive which shocked Quinn, Santana was always cocky. Then the Latina took a deep breath and started talking.

"Listen Q, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted when you took back the role as captain and I would like for us to become friends again. And I also accept your apology for telling Sue about my operation when you decide you're ready to ask for it..." The Latina trailed of and Quinn just gaped at her. She couldn't believe that Santana was actually showing emotions (and remorse of all of them), and even less apologizing.

Quinn was far from stupid and instantly realized that the only reason Santana did this was because of what Quinn had done to Rachel and didn't want to be subjected to something similar. Although Quinn and Santana had a somewhat odd friendship Quinn was quietly excited at the prospect of getting it back. She had missed her best friend during the pregnancy and after getting her spot as captain back she wasn't sure if they would ever truly be friends again, so now that this happened, Quinn didn't hesitate.

"Sure San. I want us to be friends again too, and I'm sorry for the _way_ I became head Cheerio." The girls silenced for a few seconds before Quinn continued.

"Should we hug now or something?" Before Santana had time to respond they both heard Brittany laughing and when they turned towards her it was clear that it was them she was laughing at. After looking a little pissed at the taller blonde she addressed Quinn again.

"Nah. It's not really our thing, is it?" Quinn gave the brunette a small smile.

"I guess not. Anyways, I have to get to class, see you at lunch?" Santana nodded and added.

"Wouldn't miss RuPaul's first lunch with us for anything. How can this not be fun?" They both laughed before Quinn walked away and Santana and Brittany took off in the other direction. Santana then remembered she needed to ask Brittany something.

"Hey B, why did you ask Q if _she_ thought Rachel looked better in the uniform?" Sure it was very true, but that was no reason for asking if Quinn thought so. Brittany smiled like she was keeping the world's biggest secret but replied nonetheless.

"Oh I just have a few theories on why Quinn is acting they way she does towards Rachel, so I'm trying to figure out which one it is." Santana just looked confused. The answer to that question was easy. Quinn hated Berry, she always has and always will, no need to be making theories about that. She was curious though, because Brittany was good at picking up on people's feelings so she humored her friend.

"Okay, feel like sharing?" Brittany smiled again but shook her head.

"No, sorry San. This is my thing." Santana sighed defeated. She knew it was almost impossible to try and drag something out of the blonde that she didn't want to say, and there were really no reason for trying since she sooner or later would let the cat out of the bag, it's Brittany after all. So they just walked to their next class instead, pinkies linked like always.

* * *

When Rachel walked out from the bathroom some boy walked into her and knocked her over. From the floor she could see that it was Puck. The boy stared at her for a few seconds, with a thrilled smile on his face.

"So it really is true, you have become a Cheerio! I could hardly believe it when I first heard it, but this is great, I can call you _Cherry-o Berry_ now." Puck looked immensely proud of himself.

"'_Cherry-o Berry_', did you come up with that yourself Noah?" Rachel asked and Puck nodded and looked even prouder.

"That's exceptionally stupid, even coming from you." Puck's face fell a little. "And don't feel obliged to help me up or anything, I'm perfectly capable of getting up myself, even though you were the one who caused me to fall." Rachel ended by glaring at the boy after getting up, by herself. But the ever confident Puck shrugged it off and continued with his previous thoughts.

"You know, we should totally date again, it would be epic. We're both Jews, I play football and you're a cheerleader. We're going to be the hottest couple in this school." He then tried to take Rachel's hands in his, but she slapped them away and replied with a harsh tone.

"So that you can use my forthcoming popularity like you did with Mercedes'? I don't think so Noah, and for your information, I am currently on a break from boys so there is no way that there is ever going to be an us again." Rachel pointed between the two of them to emphasize what she had just said. Noah looked dejected and said.

"You could have just said no. Anyway, I still think that it's totally cool, and hot, that you're a cheerleader now. See you later... _Cherry-o Berry_." He then walked away, while Rachel hurried away to her next class, making sure to stare angrily at every student who gawked at her.

* * *

At lunch Rachel walked in to the cafeteria and noticed that most eyes was on her and many students were whispering. Then out of nowhere Jew-Fro came running with a microphone and a small camera.

"Rachel Berry. How does it feel to be the newest addition to the Cheerios? Is it true that the others have tried to force you to quit?" Rachel had no idea how that boy knew so much about what was happening at school but before she had the chance to reply, Quinn was by her side, pushing the boy away before bellowing at him.

"How many time have I told you to leave my girls alone _freak_! Scram!" Jacob ran away as quickly as he could and Rachel faced the blonde.

"Thank you Quinn. That was ver-" She never got a chance to end that sentence, because Quinn interrupted her.

"I didn't do it for you. I did it for the squad. That weirdo should know better than to try and write negative articles about the squad. Now shut up and sit down at our table." Rachel was practically dragged to the table and on the way over she noticed Noah talking to Finn and pointing at her over the room. When Finn saw her he instantly placed his backpack in front of his, you know what, and all Rachel could think was '_That's right. You keep it in your pants jerk. You'll never get me after what you did with Santana._' She was then placed rather forcefully at the end of the table and was met with glares from the other cheerleaders.

Rachel spent much time looking over at the other kids from Glee who were talking wildly and often looking over at or pointing towards her, and this is why she missed it when Santana commanded a bottle of water. When the diva made no attempt to move someone threw a baby tomato at her head. Rachel instantly directed her attention back to the Cheerios, who were all quietly watching her, and cleared her throat.

"I'm sorry, did one of you say something to me? I was unfortunately not paying attention so if you would please repeat whatever you said, I'll be more than happy to give you an appropriate reply." Rachel finished and waited but was only met with gasps and a few eager smirks before Quinn, who looked furious, addressed the brunette.

"Stubbles! Did you just do what I think you did?" Quinn left no time for her to reply and instead continued. "Did we not have a talk earlier about what you were required to do when being around us?" Rachel this time got enough time to nod. "So why is it that you, firstly, don't carry out a direct order and secondly talk, at length even?" Rachel realized her mistake but at that point it was far too late.

"As I see it you have two choices. Apologize to Santana for the way you acted and do what she told you or..." Quinn made a dramatic pause before finishing. "... I can call for some slushies to be delivered while you take off your clothes again and we can have a rerun of yesterday's events." Rachel instantly got up and walked over to the Latina and asked her for her forgiveness. Santana saw an opportunity and forced the diva to get down on her knees and beg her for it instead.

Still better than the alternative, Rachel complied in front of the now completely silent cafeteria, and when Santana had '_forgiven_' her she went and got the bottle, but when she got back the Latina refused to accept it. Instead she stated.

"Go get a napkin and clean it, I don't want your cooties." Rachel wanted to reply that she didn't have any cooties, but with a look from Quinn, she walked back, grabbed a napkin and cleaned the bottle the best she could and presented it, holding it with the paper so to not contaminate it with imaginary cooties again. Santana accepted it and Rachel was allowed back to her seat.

The rest of their lunch break was uneventful, but it was unusually quiet and although Rachel didn't look up from her plate, she knew everyone was looking at her and talking about her and what they had witnessed.

* * *

Rachel had to endure constant stares and annoying questions for the rest of the day and when it was time for her second cheerleading practice she was seriously contemplating skipping it, but knew that that would put her spot at risk, so she went to the locker room with the other girls to put away her things.

The practice actually went quite good. Because Rachel had observed the routines and then spent much time trying to learn as much of them as she could, she quickly grew confident with her parts in them, albeit she wasn't perfect yet, and there, of course, still were the problem with her stamina. She could hardly survive the normal length of the practices, and it was even tougher with the extra three hours Sue still had them do. So she wasn't at all surprised with herself when she had to run the bathroom to throw up from the exhaustion today as well.

Again Quinn went after her, but again only to drag her back out as soon as she had finished emptying her stomach, although she didn't drag Rachel by her hair today, instead just pushed her gently in front of herself. However Rachel was genuinely surprised when Quinn walked pass her after pushing her to her place and whispered so only the diva could hear.

"Keep up the good work and you might just survive high school after all." Rachel wasn't even sure if she really had heard her captain say those words, but nonetheless it strengthened her for the remainder of the practice.

When the practice was finally over and the girls were all in the locker room, Rachel was approached by Santana and Quinn, the former with a slushie in her hand, and what the latter told her was no surprise.

"Take off your uniform Man Hands." Rachel sighed inaudibly but quickly took it off and handed it to the blonde. Then Santana placed the slushie on Rachel's head, top up, and Quinn spoke again.

"Since you didn't completely sucked today, I've decided to give you a chance. Balance the slushie on your head until the rest of us leave and yesterday's event will not be repeated after next practice. The normal level of torment will not be affected if you succeed however. Are we clear on this?" Rachel couldn't nod because of the unstable cup on her head, so she ventured a verbal response.

"Yes, Quinn."

"Good." Quinn smirked and then went to take off her own uniform.

A while later everyone was done and gone except Quinn and Santana, Brittany was waiting outside for the Latina. Quinn walked over to the exit and hovered her hand over the key to the power switch like she had done yesterday, while Santana approached the diva with a straw.

"Bend down." Was all she said and Rachel carefully complied. Then the Latina put the straw in the cup and sucked some of the syrup into her mouth, and then quickly put the end of the straw a few inches in front of Rachel's face. She had no time to react or even prepare herself before Santana blew out all the slushie she had in her mouth in Rachel's face. Out of pure instinct she withdrew her head when the syrup hit her, but this action caused the cup on top of her head to fall down and spill over and the slushie efficiently covered most of her front.

Santana laughed and walked over to Quinn who turned off the lights, leaving Rachel alone in the dark, covered in slushie yet again, and like yesterday, there was no hot water left for Rachel. Today she had prepared for slushies and cold showers by bringing warm, extra clothes with her, but all she could think while making herself ready to leave was '_I wonder if this counts as me failing at keeping the cup on my head and if that means that they will repeat yesterday's torture..._'

* * *

**Again, sorry that it's not as good as the previous chapters. Hang in there, it will get better again, and don't forget to review (****you make my day with you wonderful reviews**), leave a suggestion or if there's something I need to improve.  
Thanks to all you people for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hand in Hand**  
**Pairings:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Author's note:** I'm immensely sorry for making you wait this long, but school was more hectic than I had anticipated and I also had serious difficulties with this chapter. Although you seemed to like the last, you made me realize that it had failed to take the story in the direction I had intended, so I had to rethink most of this chapter to try and get it back on track. It's up to you to decide if I was somewhat successful or not, but I couldn't make you wait any longer.  
Thank you for all the great reviews, I still have trouble understanding that you like this so much, so please keep reviewing, there's no better feeling than getting them and reading them.  
One more thing. I've only seen the first episode of season two, because it takes forever for TV-shows to get to Sweden. But I'm about to get episodes two to four (or five) from a friend and I'm thinking that maybe there's something in them that I can use in my story. Though if you prefer it, I'll just continue without bothering too much with that, and if that's the case, the next update will probably get here a little sooner, and with 95% probability, what causes Quinn to realize her feelings for Rachel will occur. But let me know what you think about this and don't forget to review.  
I hope you guys enjoy this.

* * *

Quinn was deep in thought as she walked out with Santana to where Brittany was waiting. She had regretted it immediately when she, again, had told Rachel to strip, and she was seriously starting to question herself and her actions. She didn't even notice when her friends said goodbye to her and during dinner, despite her mother's best attempts, she couldn't get Quinn to talk at all. The younger blonde spent the next couple of hours thinking in her room, before realizing what she had to do and deciding she needed to tell this to someone right away. So she called Santana but was a little surprised when Brittany answered.

"Hi Q!" She greeted cheerfully.

"Britt? Are you with San?" Quinn asked, but in reality she wasn't very surprised, the two girls was _always_ together.

"Yeah. Hold on a minute, I'm gonna put you on speaker." The next thing Quinn knew, buttons were being pressed seemingly at random and after a minute or two, Brittany called for Santana to help her. The Latina grabbed the phone from her friend and within a second she had put the other blonde Cheerio on speaker and addressed the girl at the other side of the line.

"There, you're on Q. Now why the _fuck_ are you calling this late? We're kinda busy right now." The Latina clearly wasn't pleased to have to talk to the head Cheerio right now, but Quinn desperately needed to do this, so without bothering to try and hide the emotions in her voice, she slowly began.

"I know it's late, but I've been thinking and-" The Latina sighed and interrupted the blonde.

"Thinking Q, really? You know that absolutely nothing good can come out of that." She said with only a hint of sarcasm, but before Quinn had a chance to retaliate, Brittany cut in.

"Be nice S. Can't you hear that Quinn is sad and needs to talk to her best friends?" The Latina sighed again.

"Fine. What's up Q? And make it quick, I want to go to sleep soon... or something like that." Santana coughed out the last part, but both of the blondes heard and knew what she meant. Quinn was quiet for a couple of seconds before hesitatingly starting to talk again.

"As I was saying, I've been thinking... about the situation with Rachel-" Again she was interrupted by the Latina.

"BERRY! Are you kidding me!" Unknown to Quinn, Brittany effectively silenced her friend with a hand on her thigh.

"Sorry Quinn, go ahead. What is it about Rachel you want to talk about?" Brittany asked her friend, and again Quinn was quiet before blurting out.

"I can't do it anymore!" Quinn sighed, knowing she had to explain further. "The guilt is killing me and I don't want to hurt her anymore..." Santana was the first to reply.

"WHAT! Are you serious? First you call her by her _actual_ disgusting name, and then that you don't want to _hurt_ her. Did having a baby really screw up your mind that much?" Quinn almost started to cry at the mention of her daughter. Having Beth did change her, but not even that could explain why she felt the way she did about the ongoing situation with Rachel. She had no idea where all of the guilt were coming from, and it felt as though it was threatening to rip her heart out; she just couldn't continue to hurt the poor girl.

"It's not because of that. I just... Maybe I... Look... What we did... What I ordered to be done to Rachel after her first practice with us was the most horrific and humiliating prank we've ever done, and if something like that didn't convince her to quit the Cheerios, nothing will, so there's really no reason to continue tormenting her." Quinn trailed off and hoped it would be enough for the girls. Before Santana could snap back an answer, Brittany addressed the other blonde.

"There's more to it than just guilt, isn't that right Quinn?" Santana looked at her friend funny while Quinn tried to understand what was up with Brittany and her many questions regarding Quinn's thoughts and feelings for the diva. She quickly replied.

"No. That's all there is to it. Feeling bad, much guilt, you know, stuff like that..." Brittany looked sadly on the phone, as if Quinn could see her, feeling like she was getting closer to the truth about her friend, but still not knowing for sure. Meanwhile Santana was already tired of the conversation, wanting to go to sleep (or something else that required a bed), so she snorted and interrupted both of the other girls' respective thoughts.

"Fine Q. How do you wanna play this? You know no one is going to want to be friends with the _freak_, right?" Quinn knew this was very true but the pain in her chest told her that she had to change things for the petite brunette.

"For obvious reasons I'm not going to force anyone to spend time with her. I just figured that we could... maybe just let her be. Allow her to be a Cheerio and not slushie her all the time, or call her humiliating names." Quinn explained before Santana tiredly replied.

"Okay... I'll spread the word. Are we done now?"

"Yes, but I also want you to tell everyone that if they can't say something nice, or at least something neutral, they shouldn't say anything at all, or basically just ignore her." Santana saw the opportunity to end this chat, so she quickly let out her reply.

"Done, goodbye Q. See you tomorrow."

"Bye Quinn! I'm sure Rachel will be happy when she hears this." Brittany cheerfully said her farewell, but Quinn quickly stopped them from ending the call.

"WAIT, no! She can't know about this. I don't want her to think that I want to be her friend or something like that, or that I like her even. It will make me seem weak, and I can't have that. Just tell people to back off, she must not under any circumstances learn that I'm behind this. Goodnight B, San." Quinn then hung up and laid her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes, hoping that tomorrow would become a better day and that making Rachel off limit would make her own guilt go away.

* * *

When Rachel walked in to school the following morning she was expecting hell. Between what happened at lunch the previous day and Quinn's threat after practice, the only thing she had going for her was that none of the other students dared to do anything to her now that she was a Cheerio. She was quite surprised however, when absolutely nothing happened.

At first it was a pleasant surprise when not one of the Cheerios said or did anything malicious towards her, but every single one of them also ignored her which made her wondering what they were planning. As the day proceeded, still without anything happening, the constant agony of expecting the worst started to agitate her and by lunchtime she was ready to snap at the first word uttered to her.

But not even when she was completely surrounded by her fellow cheerleaders, anything happened. No one did a thing to her. The other cheerleaders just continued to ignore her and they didn't even look at her, although that wasn't entirely true. Brittany kept looking intently between Quinn and Rachel, Santana observed Brit's strange behavior and Quinn looked everywhere except at the diva, even when she talked to the girls sitting closest to the brunette. Rachel noticed all these things and was sure that whatever was up, those three girls knew what it was and she wished she could ask them, but that was clearly not going to happen.

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Rachel was sitting next to the other three Cheerios in the choir room, waiting for Mr. Schuester so that Glee practice could start. She wasn't particularly happy with the current situation, and to make things even worse, she was forced to abandon her place in the front row only to be ignored at the back instead. Rachel was at this point so worked up she was tapping her foot repeatedly, just to transfer some of her anxiety away before practice started and she could let it out through song instead. Not even when Santana started shooting daggers with her eyes at the diva did she stop. Instead she sneered at the Latina, on some level hoping that this would set her off and start whatever plan they had in store for her, so that this could finally come to an end.

When Finn started to walk up to her, Rachel lowered her head and sighed heavily, not wanting to deal with him on top of everything else. Santana noticed Finn and nudged Quinn, this was something the Latina didn't want to miss. When Rachel looked up again, Finn stood there with a dopey smile on his face.

"Hi Rach... Can we talk?" The tall boy asked cautiously. Rachel sighed again before replying.

"Good afternoon Finn. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" The sarcasm was dripping from Rachel's voice, but Finn didn't seem to notice, so he started with confident.

"I was just thinking, maybe we could give _us_ another chance?" Rachel raised an eyebrow and looked at him like he had just grown a second head. "I mean I still love you, and now that you are a Cheerio that could really help me get my spot on the team back and we could become this school's power couple." Finn appeared really hopeful and Santana and several of the other kids was watching the two intently. The only two exceptions to this was Quinn, who tried to look indifferent by fixating on her nails, but was still listening, and Brittany who was contemplating on Quinn's reaction to this new turn of events. Rachel had during Finn's speech been gaping at him, but once he finished, she arose from her chair and looked up in to his eyes.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Finn! even if I hadn't lost all faith in you after you lied to me about you and Santana, I still wouldn't want to get back together with you because you're always only thinking about yourself. You were kicked out from the football team and now, because I'm a Cheerio and belong to the popular clique, officially anyway, you want to date me so that you will remain popular and maybe get your spot back! You were and always will be the most important person in your life and I will not be a part of it again." Rachel finished her rant and glared at the tall boy, who evidently had expected a different outcome of this conversation. He opened his mouth to try another approach, but Rachel interjected.

"And besides, I'm on a break from boys, so NO! Now please just leave me alone..." Finn drooped his shoulders and his head and ambled away to his own seat, shame shining through his eyes, he realized that his motive in fact was selfish. The rest of the group was glancing at the diva who was fuming at this point. They were thankful when Mr. Schuester chose that moment to walk in, staring intently at some papers and therefore not noticing the tension.

"Hello everyone. Take your seats and we'll get started." He looked up and saw that they were already in their respective places, but his eyes stopped at Rachel, sitting in her uniform next to the other Cheerios. He frowned and sighed before continuing. Had he known what had taken place just before he entered and during the day, he probably would have reconsidered his next couple of words.

"Okay, I have something I want to try today, so Mercedes, this is for you, Kurt, here you go and Tina, this last one is yours." The three students eyed their papers a few moments before Mercedes asked him what they all were thinking.

"Mr. Schue, what is this?" Will smiled with confidence and started to explain.

"Your very own solos." Rachel's hand flew up immediately, but he ignored the brunette. "I think it's time you get a little more responsibility in here, so I want you to do this and the rest are going to do another Journey song." Rachel was waving her whole arm to get the teacher's attention so he gave in.

"Yes Rachel?"

"Mr. Schuester. Don't you agree that I must be given a solo as well? I am the best singer here after all, and I find it preposterous that you fail to take that in to consideration once again." Will took a deep breath to prepare himself.

"No Rachel, I don't agree with you. Your more recent actions have demonstrated to me that you no longer prioritize Glee and I therefore feel that it's crucial to let the others shine in your absence." Rachel got up from her seat and marched over to the teacher, while Santana pulled out her phone and started to film the pair.

"Excuse me, but you have no idea what you're talking about! I am fully committed to Glee and singing, and Broadway is and forever will be my foremost dream."

"Well, your actions speak differently from your words and... "

"Just because I'm sick and tired of everyone treating me like I'm either invisible, or a pile of excrement from the lowest form of organism on this planet, and that I just want to be liked, doesn't mean I will give anything less than 100% every single practice!" Rachel was practically screaming, not being able to keep her emotions about the day to herself anymore. Will had expect another diva storm off, and not this much of a fight so he wasn't prepared with much more arguments than what he had already said, but he gave it one last attempt.

"As you're well aware of Rachel, you're not the only one in Glee that can sing. I thought that you, after last year, had finally learned to share the spotlight." Rachel on the other hand was always ready for a war of words and shot back as soon as the teacher had finished.

"You're constantly hindering me from doing what's best for this club. You did it most of last year and now you're doing it yet again. _I_ honestly thought that we had moved past or differences, but clearly I was wrong. You're still jealous of me and my talent, and the fact is that if it weren't for me, Glee club wouldn't even exist! And you know that." Will knew he was beaten and looked down in defeat, but Rachel had more anger she needed to went. So she turned and pointed at the three Cheerios, making Santana lower her phone.

"And don't even get me started on you three!" Rachel yelled. "Since I joined the Cheerios you've treated me worse than ever before and now, all of a sudden, you do nothing, not even a single insult or a sobriquet." Brittany looked at Rachel questioningly and Quinn was looking at her lap where her hands were idly laying. The only one who reacted was Santana.

"Chill _Stubbles_. Don't do anything you'll regret." Santana gave the diva her best death-glare and if Rachel hadn't been so worked up, she probably would have backed down. This was not the case however, so she took a step towards the girls and continued.

"You know what? Go ahead and do your worst. Because the agony of constantly walking around and expecting a blitzkrieg against you is almost as bad as what you've put me through after my two practices, and that includes the first."

Quinn felt a massive wave of guilt hit her. This had not been her plan. Stopping the attacks on Rachel was supposed to make her life better, but instead she had just caused the brunette more pain. Santana looked at Quinn, silently asking the blonde to allow her to snap the diva's neck, but Quinn didn't look up so Santana sighed in frustration and sat back down. Rachel faltered at this very uncharacteristical action, but was soon back on track.

"NOTHING!" Rachel wagged her arms and then let her hands land on the back of her head.

"I don't even know what to do anymore, so I give up. Do whatever you want to me, I don't care." Rachel then turned to Will.

"I hope you're happy Mr. Schuester. I'm leaving just like you obviously wanted. I'll be at the auditorium singing, and waiting for you to apologize. Enjoy your practice." With that she left the room and a very quiet club behind her. The room stayed silent for a couple of minutes before Mr. Schuester cleared his throat and addressed the group.

"Well, I guess no one is especially keen on singing at the moment, so I think we'll end early today." The students gathered their things in silence, and while everyone was busy, Brittany snuck out from the room without anyone noticing, and headed towards the auditorium.

* * *

Rachel was standing on the stage, going through the vast number of songs she knew to try and find one which suited her current feelings. She would normally sing something from a musical, but today she felt as though she needed something a little more loud and angry, and she soon came up with a song. It wasn't in the genre she usually listened to of sung from, but it would work for the occasion. So she took a deep breath and started to sing.

_Milk it for all it's worth._

_Make sure you get there first._

_The apple of your eye._

_The rotten core inside._

_We are all prisoners._

_Things couldn't get much worse._

_I've had it up to here, you know your end is near._

It was at this point that Brittany quietly walked in and sat down in the back to listen to Rachel sing.

_You had to have it all,_

_Well have you had enough?_

_You greedy little bastard,_

_You will get what you deserve._

_When all is said and done,_

_I will be the one to leave you in the misery and hate what you've become._

_Intoxicated eyes, no longer live that life._

_You should have learned by now, I'll burn this whole world down._

_I need some peace of mind, no fear of what's behind._

_You think you've won this fight, you've only lost your mind._

_You had to have it all,_

_Well have you had enough?_

_You greedy little bastard,_

_You will get what you deserve._

_When all is said and done,_

_I will be the one to leave you in the misery and hate what you've become._

_Hold me down (I will live again)_

_Pull me out (I will break it in)_

_Hold me down (better in the end)_

_Hold me down._

_You had to have it all,_

_Well have you had enough?_

_You greedy little bastard,_

_You will get what you deserve._

_When all is said and done,_

_I will be the one to leave you in the misery and hate what you've become._

_Heaven help you._

_Heaven help you._

Rachel stretched the last note for as long as she could, and when she finally silenced, and panted heavily, she heard a single set of clapping hands approaching her. When she whipped her head towards the sound, she was surprised to be met with Brittany.

"That was really good Rachel. Different from your normal songs, but still good... How are you feeling?" Rachel pondered the question for a moment before sitting down at the edge of the stage and replied.

"I've been better, but it felt remarkably refreshing to let it all out." Brittany sat down next to the brunette and waited for her to say something more.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you as too when it was mostly Quinn, Santana and the other Cheerios I was angry with. The stress of the day just caught up with me I guess and you were caught in the crossfire. Lately, you're the only one that has been anything close to nice to me and I don't want you to think that I'm ungrateful." Brittany patted the diva's shoulder before she started to talk.

"I'm not the only one that has been nice to you. I was not supposed to tell you this, but the reason that none of the Cheerios was mean to you today was because Quinn ordered everyone to back off. She said that if they didn't have anything friendly to say, they should just not talk at all. There's no plan to be mean to you, she just couldn't do stuff like that to you anymore." Rachel was rendered speechless. Never in a lifetime would she have thought that Quinn was behind something like this, and she couldn't understand why.

"Brittany, why did Quinn do-" But before Rachel was able to finish her question, Brittany cut her off.

"Look. Mr. Schue is here. I'm gonna go and find San before she gets worried. See you tomorrow." And then Brittany was gone.

Will walked up to Rachel and sat down next to her and they both stayed silent for a few minutes. Then the teacher apologized for the way he acted, but nothing more than that. Rachel absentmindedly nodded in acceptance and before she knew it, she was alone again.

Rachel stayed there for the better part of an hour, thinking about what Brittany had told her, why she had told her, and of course why Quinn had done this. She was none the wiser when she left, and stayed in deep thought throughout the rest of the evening, wondering what was going to happen next...

* * *

**Song used was _Had Enough_ by _Breaking Benjamin_.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hand in Hand**  
**Pairings:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Author's note:** I know I suck, not one update for 48 days. School has taken up all my time and I'm really sorry about that.  
Because of the long absence, I had to change some things and this chapter turned out to be more of a way to get back into writing. But I'm glad to announce that I've already started on the next which will have a lot more plot-advancements, so don't give up.  
And if I haven't said so, all mistakes are mine.

* * *

It had been an eventful week so far for Rachel, and to be perfectly honest, so had her whole life been since school started back up after the summer. However nothing in her life had prepared her for this ordeal with the Cheerios in general, and Quinn in particular. The first two days as a cheerleader was filled with psychological abuse for her, but then today, it had just stopped and Rachel went a little crazy as a response to the stress this caused her. According to Brittany, it was Quinn who had stopped all forms of attack directed at her, and for the life of her, she could not figure out why, and it caught her completely by surprise. It came out of nowhere and, since Quinn had gone back to being the HBIC, it was completely out of character for her as well.

Rachel doubted very much that Brittany would lie to her, after all, the blonde was most of the time painfully honest about anything really, so she figured that Quinn really must have given the order. The only question was why. It was quite unlikely that Quinn would answer if asked directly, considering that Brittany admitted that she went against the head cheerleader's orders by telling Rachel.

After a long evening of deep concentration and thinking, her best guess was that this was just another cruel prank, although slightly more elaborated than they normally were. It was a definite possibility that Quinn wanted her to get comfortable and slowly lower her guard, to lull her into a false sense of security. And both she and Santana knew of Brittany's tendencies to, more or less accidently, reveal secrets, which could have lead them to lie to the blonde. They might even have expected Brittany to do exactly what she did, figuring this would make Rachel more likely to walk right into their trap.

At the end of the night, Rachel was fairly certain that this was the truth behind this strange turn of event, but there was still one piece of the puzzle that did not fit, and made the situation even more peculiar. Earlier in Glee, Quinn had just sat there and said nothing while Rachel had yelled at her and the other two Cheerios and, dared she say, looked guilty and remorseful about the whole thing. And like that wasn't enough, Quinn didn't even give Santana permission to retaliate when the Latina so obviously sought it. If this really was just another prank they wouldn't have allowed her to do that to them, so that part was bothering her.

So maybe, just maybe Quinn was sincere in her desire to stop targeting her, and possibly even befriend her. It sounded like such a ridiculous thought, but hope was always the last thing to leave a person, and of hope Rachel had plenty. Later that night, when she was lying in bed and about to turn off her light, she decided that she had to figure out the truth if she ever wanted peace in her life again. Since Brittany was perhaps deceived and neither Quinn or Santana would admit to anything, she decided that she should just try to piss them off and see what happens. If it was falsehood, then they would snap and go back to treat her like dung once again. However if what Brittany said was true, they would (hopefully) do nothing and Rachel could maybe eventually dare to approach the possibility of a friendship with the girls. That is if this was something she still wanted after her first two practices, only time would tell if that was the case or not.

* * *

Quinn had avoided all calls and texts from Santana the previous night because she just didn't want to deal with the Latina's temper and all questions she sure as hell had about the situation with Rachel. So the next morning when she saw Santana approaching her with a fierce face she just felt like going home and hide in her closet for a couple of weeks, until everything was forgotten. When the Latina reached the blonde she slammed her locker shut.

"Bathroom, now!" she said with a voice thick venom and anger. Quinn, knowing there was no point in arguing, sighed and followed the brunette towards the closest bathroom while wishing that Brittany was there to calm the Latina down a to a more survivable level. Santana quickly sent away the couple of girls currently in the room before slamming the door shut and stood in front of Quinn with her hands on her hips. Quinn matched her stance, she would not let Santana intimidate her. After a minute of glaring at one another Santana finally spoke up.

"Ok, start explaining Tubbers. What the hell is this thing with Man-Hands and letting her get away with what she did yesterday?" Quinn was about to reply but the Latina didn't give her the chance before continuing. "I didn't say anything when you told me an B 'cause I was tired and busy with other stuff more interesting than your redemption, but you _cannot_ expect me to not kill her after that. She's the most annoying person ever and you've always hated that, that_ thing_, and now this!" Quinn was quiet for a few seconds to make sure the brunette was done, before straightening her back a little extra and begun her excuses.

"Look San, I told you on the phone the other day, I feel guilty about everything I've done to her and I just can't continue with it. It hurts too much and I'm not that person anymore, not after..." Quinn didn't finish that sentence and she didn't have to, Santana knew that she was referring to Beth. Santana also knew that Quinn had spent most of the summer alone in her room, or out getting back into shape, distancing herself from all her friends and the life outside this small part of the world. Quinn broke eye-contact and Santana softened her stance let her hands fall to her sides.

"Q, I know having a baby gave you a soul or whatever, but are you seriously telling me that's all there is to it. I mean Brittany has been asking all these strange questions about you and Berry, and you've been acting strange, even for you, around her." Quinn tried to look away, but Santana stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Every time Beth was mentioned the blonde felt like crying, and more often than not, that's exactly what she did.

And like this wasn't enough, there was this whole thing with Rachel going on, and she had no idea what it was about, or why she felt the way she did, with all the guilt and other confusing feelings. It was so messed-up and she just didn't want to be that person anymore. She tried to get loose from Santana's grip but that just made the Latina force her to look at her, and that's when she noticed the tear in Quinn's eye. She sighed and ran her free hand through her hair.

"Fuck, Quinn... don't do this. I can't handle the crying, that's B's thing. If you want to play nice with Berry then do so and I promise I'll try to leave it alone, leave her alone even, but no promises though." Quinn actually laughed a little through her tears which were now flowing freely.

"Urgh, I'm a mess. I don't even know why I all of a sudden feel this guilt, or whatever it is, in my heart telling me that what I'm doing is wrong." Quinn said while furiously wiping away her tears. Santana smiled at her and rubbed her arm with the hand she still had on the blonde's shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, I've got your back no matter what your deal with Berry is. Just don't expect me to be friends with her or anything." Both girls laughed and Quinn made a bold move and hugged her best friend.

"I would never do that to you, but thanks." Quinn replied and after they let go of one another she continued. "Do you mind giving me a minute? I' need to freshen up a bit before I head back out there."

"Sure thing Q. See you later." Santana quickly left the bathroom to try and find Brittany, she needed a distraction after all this feelings-crap.

Finally alone, Quinn washed her face and looked at herself in the mirror. She honestly didn't know why she had suddenly started to care about the diva and her feelings, and she sure as hell didn't want to know. Whatever it was, was scaring her and she wasn't ready to look that deep into her heart, and ask herself that question and having to deal with it. So instead she finished washing her face, fixed her smeared mascara, took a couple of deep breaths, and then walked out with her protective walls back in place.

* * *

The day went by slowly for Quinn and by lunchtime she was ready to fall asleep and stay in that state for a couple of days, not wanting to deal with any more annoying teachers and odd stares from students. She knew she looked tired, and her eyes were read from both crying earlier and the lack of sleep she suffered from. She walked the halls with her shoulders slumped and her head hung low, but it snapped up immediately when she heard Rachel's voice in a tone she had not heard it in since before the Sunshine-incident. It was filled with confidence and superiority and it went a thousand miles a minute, just like it used to.

Quinn watched as Rachel approached the entrance to the cafeteria with Kurt and Mercedes, with Tina and Artie following a few feet behind. When they group passed her, Rachel smiled and waved at Quinn. If she was confused earlier, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The only difference between the Rachel from last year and this one, was the cheerleading uniform and could not understand how Rachel so easily could have slipped back into her old role after the mental abuse during her two first days as a Cheerio, and her meltdown in Glee yesterday.

Quinn then watched how Rachel said goodbye to the other Glee-kids and sat down at the Cheerios' table and started up a conversation with Brittany, the only one there who would talk with the diva without having a gun pointed at her head. It was a strange scene for Quinn to observe and while Brittany seemed happy, the other Cheerios were either rather sulky or ignored the brunette, and Santana was glaring between Rachel and Quinn, obviously annoyed that she couldn't make the diva shut up.

After a little while Quinn finally made her way over to their table and sat down, greeting her two best friends but avoided to look at Rachel who seemed to be unfazed by the blonde's arrival. Santana was pleading her captain one last time to allow her to punch the girl or something similar, because Rachel talking in paragraphs again was something that she hadn't missed. The girl just wouldn't stop talking, but Quinn discretely shook her head and then directed her attention towards her salad, trying to focus on anything not Rachel. Starting to talk to some of the other girls she was grateful that she had something other to think about than her currently unknown feelings towards Rachel. Or she was for the 14 seconds it took before her mind was back at the brunette.

Meanwhile, Rachel was feeling both wonderful and awful. It felt amazing to act like herself again, it was comforting and familiar and a great boost for her confidence. On the other hand, this first attempt at angering Quinn and the Cheerios seemed to be failing which supported the theory that Quinn really was sincere when she stopped the attacks on her, and she wasn't sure how she felt about that, or what it could mean for her future, as a Cheerio and a future star on Broadway.

* * *

The day continued to go well for Rachel. Although the Glee-kids hadn't forgotten or forgiven her for what she did to Sunshine, they were all willing to talk with her again which was a relief. And her freak-out probably hadn't hurt their willingness to approach her again, so all in all she was in a good mood when she walked towards the gym and another cheerleading practice, something she had actually started to enjoy when Sue wasn't yelling at them too much and Quinn wasn't pulling her by her hair.

She was however still not sure about the situation with Quinn and the other girls, but for the time being, it was nice to not have to worry about slushies or hurtful comments and nicknames. So when she entered the locker-room and Brittany waved, she greeted the blonde politely before getting ready, but avoided to look at the others. Talking obviously hadn't made them abandon their perhaps existing plan, so she waited and watched for an opening to try something else.

About thirty minutes into the practice she got the opportunity she was looking for. She had noticed Quinn's behavior during lunch and it was obvious that her focus was not on cheerleading as she was pretty much all over the place. Sue had already yelled at her seven times, but Quinn just wasn't into it today. So during the minute long water brake, she approached Sue but made sure she talked loud enough so all the girls could hear her, especially Quinn.

"Miss Sylvester, I am fully aware that I'm new and perhaps I'm overstepping some boundaries by doing this, but our captain clearly has her mind elsewhere and I for one am worried about the ramifications if this continues. You might want to consider some form of punishment so that she realizes the importance of her role as our leader..." Rachel hesitated for a moment. The next few words she was going to say was a serious threat to her health, but it was a too good of an opportunity to expose Quinn's true purpose to just let it pass by her, so she continued. "Or you might have to consider replacing her." There was several gasps behind her and she heard quick steps nearing and before she knew it, Quinn was standing beside her, looking furious.

"You got to be kidding me Berry!" Quinn practically yelled. "You dare to question my leadership and devotion to my squad! MY squad! I should have you kicked out of the team for your insolence." Strangely, she stopped there, not saying another word, but breathed heavily with fire in her eyes. During this brief confrontation Sue had silently observed them, but as Quinn silenced, she directed her attention towards the young blonde and addressed her.

"Don't get your panties in a twist Fabray, your position as captain is not in jeopardy yet, but the midget is actually right. Your performance today is not at an acceptable level, so after practice you'll be running laps for an hour and suicides for an additional twenty minutes. Is this understood?" Quinn was seething, but knew better than to question Sue about this, after all, she didn't want to risk her title more than she already had.

"Fine. But if I'm doing it, so is she." Quinn said calmly and pointed at Rachel. The diva immediately turned and faced the blonde, and shouted her thoughts regarding Quinn's statement.

"Pardon me! Are you serious! Why! What have I done wrong!" Quinn just smirked, loving the fact that she was in control again.

"Because I'm your captain, and I gave you an order. Accept it Rach, if I have to suffer, so do you." Rachel froze and her mind went blank. Then a single thought turned up in her head, '_Quinn just called me _Rach_..._' and a few seconds later '_Why would she do that? She has called me _Rachel_ a few times but _Rach_, it sounds like something a friend would say and like she actually cares about me. Similar to when she accidently said that she cared about me just before she punched that locker during my first practice._' Quinn hadn't realized what she had said but saw the shock on Rachel's face and certainly noticed that the girl hadn't said a work for quite some time now. She looked around to see if maybe time had stopped, and it did appear so, with the rest of the Cheerios not moving and watching the trio intently.

"Um, are you alright?" Quinn inquired and finally Rachel came back to reality. However she was still a little taken back by Quinn's choice of word so she just nodded and gave her a forced smile. Sue on the other hand was not amused and had no more patience for this interruption.

"If you're done with your pathetic bantering, GET BACK OUT THERE AND CONTINUE TRAINING!" Both girls moved quickly and joined the others to resume the practice, and Quinn actually managed to do what she was supposed to do, despite her thoughts being otherwise occupied.

* * *

When Sue finally ended the practice, Quinn and Rachel stood by as the rest of the Cheerios went to the locker-room. On the way out Brittany walked up to Quinn and put a hand on her arm and smiled sweetly, like she was trying to communicate something to her without words, before walking over to Santana who was holding the door open for the blonde. When Brittany was gone, the Latina turned back to the pair and grinned evilly.

"Have fun bitches. And Q, don't forget to play nice." With that Santana left a nervous and slightly puzzled Rachel, and a Quinn wearing an expressionless look. Sue then approached them from behind and stood herself between them.

"Ladies, you may begin running, NOW!" Both girls started running straight away and heard Sue yelling at them that she would check in on them every now and then and that cheating would just bring harder punishments upon them.

Quinn being more well-trained and used to ridiculously hard workouts, quickly ran away from Rachel. Although they were on a track field, so Rachel knew that the blonde would eventually catch up with her again. Until then she set a pace she hoped she could manage for an hour and started thinking.

Making Rachel run with Quinn was hardly cruel enough to support the theory that this was all an elaborate way to humiliate her once again. In fact, it seemed more and more likely that Quinn really wanted Rachel to be safe from bullying and allow her to be a cheerleader, and consequently somewhat popular. It was indeed a thrilling thought, but Rachel was still not sure if she wanted a friendship with the cheerleaders. It had been her original hope, but after what they did to her, she just didn't know anymore.

Rachel watched Quinn run pass her a couple of times before came up with something to say and she couldn't handle not talking with the blonde anymore, so when she passed her again, Rachel called for Quinn's attention.

"Quinn! May you please slow down a little. Our punishment is rather lengthy and we may benefit from talking so that time will appear to move faster, therefore seeming to end this more quickly." Quinn sighed and hung her head, but did slow down and allowed Rachel to catch up with her. But for the next couple of laps there was only silence between the pair, as Rachel had no idea on how to start the conversation with the blonde, and Quinn just told herself that she had no interest in talking with the diva. Eventually Rachel couldn't take it anymore and addressed her bluntly.

"Quinn, do you seek some form of friendship with me, or simply a truce?" Quinn almost stopped because of the shock she felt, but was soon back next to Rachel, trying to both appear unaffected and avoid eye-contact completely. When Rachel didn't get any form of response, she tried again.

"The reason for my query is that I have noticed some peculiar changes in demeanor towards me from you and the other Cheerios, and after Glee yesterday you should be well aware of what I'm talking about." Quinn then looked at the girl besides her, and felt relief that the anger from the day before seemed to be gone, and was instead replaced with a sincere curiosity, but still she said nothing. Rachel noticed that the subject made Quinn uncomfortable, but pushed for an answer none the less.

"I just want to know how come I no longer receives slushie-facials or am otherwise humiliated and taunted." Quinn then looked around and when she was confident that Sue or anyone else wasn't present she stopped running and walked briskly instead. Rachel hurriedly matched her pace, eager for some information.

"Look Rach..." Quinn hesitantly began and it felt like something moved in Rachel's stomach. '_There it was again, _Rach_. It looks as if she doesn't even realizes that she's doing it. What is up with that?_' she thought before Quinn continued. "I don't even know why you care. Shouldn't you just be happy that you aren't bullied anymore?" Rachel considered this for a moment before she gave her reply.

"Perhaps." was all she said and the girls continued to walk in silence for awhile, until Quinn suddenly exclaimed.

"Damn it! Sue's coming back, let's start running again before she adds more time." Both girls started running, and thanked whoever was listening that Sue hadn't seen them slacking.

For the rest of Quinn's punishment, and Rachel's co-punishment, they talked a little about all sorts of things, music, school, cheerleading, clothes, though there was strangely enough no talk about boys. And despite the physical agony Rachel was currently in, she really enjoyed spending some time with the blonde, something she had been wanting for for years.

* * *

When the punishment was finally over Rachel could hardly walk and she had dance class tomorrow evening, how was she supposed to cope with that. Then Quinn surprised her by helping her move towards the locker-room, and Rachel was certain that if the Cheerios were to do something, they would be waiting behind that door.

They soon reached the door and Quinn held it open for the other girl. It was dark inside and Rachel couldn't see anything so she hesitated, which Quinn noticed.

"Are you going in or am I going to have to leave you out here all night?" Rachel replied with a nervous laughter before cautiously walking in. At first nothing happened, but when the light was suddenly switched on, Rachel jumped and screamed, then curled into a ball with her arms over her head. When noting hit her and no insults were thrown at her she peaked and saw Quinn standing with her hand on the light switch and her eyes widened.

"What on earth did you do that for?" Quinn asked, almost sounding terrified. Rachel quickly stood and blushed profusely.

"No reason..." was Rachel's lame excuse. It wasn't convincing but neither girl had the energy to continue on with the subject. Instead Rachel went to her bag and looked at Quinn.

"Quinn, since it is rather late already and I have a lot of homework, do you think you could allow an exception today and let me shower now instead of after you've finished and left?" Rachel asked hopefully and Quinn sighed before nodding.

"Sure. I guess that would be alright." Rachel smiled and quickly shed her clothes, causing Quinn to halt her movements towards her own bag. She knew she shouldn't be looking but it was like a road kill (only more beautiful), impossible to not look. She felt a little dizzy her throat dried u and she fumbled with her clothes and her bag while trying to say something, which mostly just turned into stammering.

"Um... y-you know I j-just r-remembered that I, um, w-was s-supposed to be h-home like an h-hour ago, um, my mom you k-know?" Rachel looked at the blonde with raised eyebrows, never having heard her quite so nervous before, but nodded in understanding.

"Sure Quinn. I wouldn't think of detaining you from quality time with tour mother. Have fun and I guess I'll see you Monday."

"Mm-hm. Monday, yeah." And just like that the blonde was gone, leaving Rachel alone.

"That was peculiar behavior coming from Quinn." She then sighed and headed to the showers, saying to herself.

"Now let's see if a hot shower can't help me decide whether or not I should pursue a friendship with Quinn and the others..."

* * *

**Again, sorry about the wait, but school must come first. I hope you haven't forgotten about me, and if you haven't the next is not far away.**

**And please don't forget to review, any thoughts are appreciated, so it you have a minute or two, please press the button and tell me what you think.**

**Until next time, take care. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Hand in hand  
Pairing:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Author's note:** I'm the worst person ever, I'm sorry. School work hit me like a tidal wave and when I finally finished, I'd lost all sense of direction with this. Anyway, I have two weeks and a final left of this semester and then when I start working this summer I should have more time to write. This is slightly longer than previous chapters, so consider this my attempt at making amends for being so slow. Again, SORRY!

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with me!" Quinn said to no one in particular while banging her head gently against the steering wheel of her car. Her heart was still beating faster than normal after the... _incident_ with Rachel in the locker-room, and her thoughts were all over the place. It was in fact so bad that she had some problems with locating her car after leaving. She now wondered why she had reacted the way she did when Rachel had shed her clothes, and why she became so damn nervous and unable to form even simple words.

The minutes ticked away faster than Quinn realized and soon there were a soft tapping on her window. She immediately shot up, screamed in surprise and clutched her chest. She quickly looked to the side and saw Rachel standing outside looking both scared and worried. Once Quinn had came to the conclusion that there were no immediate danger, she forcefully opened the door and went out to stand in front of the shorter girl.

"What the hell Berry!" Quinn shouted. "Are you trying to give me a freaking heart attack! God, what's your problem?" Rachel quickly took two small steps back so that she was out of reach for the blonde. Rachel had seen her with her head on the steering wheel, so obviously she had felt a bit concerned and wanted to see if she was okay and if she perhaps needed some help. She started to apologize to Quinn.

"I am sincerely sorry for startling you Quinn. That was of course not my intention when I knocked on the window." Quinn broke eye-contact long enough to roll her eyes before Rachel continued. "It's just that I saw you with your head on the steering wheel, and earlier in the locker-room you told me that you had to leave right away because you had plans with your mother for the evening, so I was worried that something had happened seeing as you were still here. It's been approximately twenty-one, no wait, twenty-two minutes since you left me, uh the room I mean." Quinn looked into the diva's eyes and saw nothing but honest worry and compassion, so she sighed and averted her eyes from Rachel's and looked at the ground for a few seconds. When she had composed herself enough she looked up and to the waiting girl.

"Um, yeah. I just had a lot of... things on my mind and I guess that I kind of lost track of time." Quinn answered and gave Rachel a half-hearted smile, which the diva returned with a full-hearted one.

"Oh, is it maybe something that you would like to talk about? I am aft -" Rachel was interrupted mid-sentence Quinn's answer.

"NO!" Quinn yelled and Rachel was taken aback by the force the blonde had put behind the word. Quinn sighed again (because that was apparently her new thing), and reached out to softly take a hold of Rachel's shoulders.

"I'm sorry Rachel. I didn't mean to snap at you like that, but whatever is on my mind is something that I really need to figure out on my own when the time is right, which it isn't now, just so we're clear." Quinn's tone had now changed to a much softer and friendlier one, making Rachel wonder what exactly was going on with the blonde to make her act the way she was. '_Maybe she is pregnant again._' Rachel thought, but heartily wished that wasn't the case. She didn't think that Quinn deserved that, even after this week's events, and to be perfectly honest she was almost certain that she knew that the blonde wasn't so foolish to put herself in that situation again, or foolish at all for that matter. However she did see an opportunity to either lighten the mood or get her to open up, so she went for it.

"You're not pregnant again, are you?" Rachel asked while trying to show nothing but support with her eyes. Quinn opened her mouth in surprise, but soon started to laugh uncontrolledly. It was lucky she was still holding on to Rachel because she needed the support to not fall to the ground. Rachel on the other hand was taken back a bit by the extreme reaction, and she was therefore still unsure what the laughing actually meant. However she couldn't help but smile at how beautiful Quinn's laugh sounded in her ears at that moment, almost as beautiful as when she herself was singing, _almost_.

"No Rachel." Quinn got out between laughs, and when she then tried to compose herself, she failed miserably. After a few more minutes she was able to stop, and with tears in her eyes and a huge smile she looked at Rachel once again.

"No Rachel, I'm not pregnant again. I'm not that stupid, and I've already promised myself that I won't have sex again before I'm married." Rachel smiled with relief.

"That's a very smart and mature decision you've committed to. I myself have vowed to not have sex until I'm 25, so I can relate to your feelings on the matter and for the record, I think you're doing the right thing." Rachel smiled and patted one of Quinn's hands which were still holding the diva's shoulders. "However to return to what we were saying earlier, your mother is probably waiting for you, and she might be worried." Quinn's smile dropped a bit and she averted her eyes.

"Yeah, it's not that big of a deal, I'll just call her on the way." They stood in comfortable silence for a while before Quinn retreated her hands and started to softly scrape her foot along the ground while looking down at what she did with her foot. Rachel had the feeling that there were something else Quinn wanted to say, so she stayed and remained silent, waiting for the other Cheerio to gather her nerves, or whatever it was she was currently doing.

Truth be told, Rachel was actually enjoying this little chat and didn't want it to end since it was the first time since Quinn became head cheerleader again that she wasn't trying to hurt her. Even after a nice hot (for the first time) shower she was still undecided about whether she wanted to be friends with Quinn and the others or not, but figured that this was her chance to see how it would feel and if she would dare to think that it might be worth it. Eventually Quinn looked back up at Rachel who was expectantly waiting for whatever the blonde was going to say.

"I'm sorry for making you partake in my punishment. You were actually right, I kinda was all over the place and I should know better than to not focus during practice." Quinn silenced for a moment before continuing. "I was wondering... if maybe you would want me to... like give you a ride or something? To your house I mean." Quinn was mentally kicking herself. '_When did I become so bad with words, and why is it always around Rachel? Get a grip Fabray!_' Quinn thought while studying the smile on Rachel's face, that in some magical way was able to grow even wider and brighter than it already was. She could not help but smile back, though this time her smile was one hundred percent real.

"Yes Quinn, that would be very much appreciated. Otherwise I would have to call my daddy and wait for him to get here and pick me up." Rachel then realized something, so before Quinn could respond, she continued. "But what about your mother? You're already awfully late and spending time with one's parents is important and I don't wish to reduce the time you two can spend together. " She was just concerned, but somehow Quinn's smile soothed her and made her feel like all the problems in the world suddenly vanished, a completely new feeling for her.

"Tell you what Berry, if you get in the car I'll call my mom and explain the situation before we drive. I'm sure she won't mind. Besides, it's my fault you're here anyway, so my offer is not up for discussion, alright?" Both girls smiled before Rachel walked around to the passenger side and got in, while Quinn retrieved her phone before getting in herself.

During the next two minutes Quinn had to fake a call to her mother since she actually didn't have any plans with her, it had just been a lame excuse to leave when Rachel stripped. So she explained to her phone why she was late and apologized for the same, and finished by saying that she would drive a friend home (Rachel stopped breathing when she heard Quinn refer to her as a _friend_) before going home herself. When she was finished she looked at Rachel and gave her another smile.

"There, all taken care of, satisfied?" Rachel nodded happily and Quinn started her car and drove towards the Berrys' house. She didn't want to admit that she knew where Rachel lived, so she allowed the brunette to quickly explain the route while they were leaving the school's parking lot.

After that was taken care of they fell silent, neither saying a single word. Rachel was desperately trying to come up with something to say, but her mind failed with coming up with any topics that they hadn't already covered while running, and since she was in Quinn's car she didn't have the guts to try and touch the radio. Instead she simply sat and fidgeted in her seat and played with her fingers. Meanwhile Quinn was lost in thought, only aware enough to not crash into anything or anyone. She was wondering how she had gotten herself into this situation, driving Rachel home, _voluntarily_. '_Santana would die on the spot if she ever heard of this._' Quinn thought. But even more she wondered why she all of a sudden both enjoyed Rachel's company, even if they didn't talk to each other, and felt incredibly nervous and insecure around her.

Soon Quinn was parking her car in the street in front of Rachel's house, but still neither girl spoke or moved. Rachel hesitantly peaked at Quinn, who was doing the same, and when their eyes met they both averted them immediately and blushed profusely. The silence was deafening and one could easily cut the tension inside the car with a knife. When Quinn looked over at the house she could see one of Rachel's fathers standing at the window, watching them intently. She swallowed hard under his gaze and finally addressed the girl beside her.

"Um, Rachel?" She said but waited until the brunette looked at her before continuing. "You should probably go in, your dad is looking at us, and he's kinda scaring me with that stare." Rachel looked towards the window next to the front door and when saw the man standing there, she blushed yet again. '_Why does he has to be so embarrassing?_' She wondered.

"That's actually my daddy, but you're right. I have a lot of homework to do today because with my busy weekend schedule I won't have much time to do them any other time than now, and your mom is waiting for you to get home, so..." Rachel shyly looked at Quinn again who finished her sentence for her.

"So we'll see each other in school on Monday." She then watched as Rachel unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car, but before she closed the door she looked back in, waved and said a simple adieu.

"Good bye Quinn. See you Monday."

"Bye." Quinn replied back and then waited until Rachel was safely inside before driving home, blissfully unaware that Rachel's daddy was still watching her as she drove away.

* * *

After Rachel was done scolding her daddy for scaring her... classmate? teammate? potential friend? (Quinn had said friend on the phone to her mother) whatever Quinn was to her, she disappeared into her room to get started on her homework, but of course Quinn, the other Cheerios and the prospect of a friendship with at least some of them took up most of her time.

For as long as Rachel could remember she had wanted to be friends with Quinn. She never really understood why, but since the first time they met as small children she knew what she wanted, for the blonde to be her friend. Not even years of torture could change that desire, as she was still passionate about winning her over. When it came to the rest of the cheerleaders, she could almost already consider Brittany to be a friend, sort of at least, and if she was going to be friends with both Quinn and Brittany, Santana would always be a part of that as well, even if neither one of the two brunettes would be too happy about that situation. As for the rest of them; sure she wouldn't mind having them as some sort of friends (or at least not enemies), but to her it was always a certain blonde who was at the top of her wishing list.

For better or for worse, Rachel was also a highly intelligent girl and she knew better than to believe that every day would be like after today's practice with Quinn. Sure, it had been a little awkward at times with neither one of them knowing what to say or do, but all in all Rachel was still very happy with how things went. And even if she didn't have the intelligence to understand this, she had the experience to do so. Sting might have sung that '_History will teach us nothing_', but Rachel had learned. She had learned to never trust a Cheerio, unless toy wanted to get hurt. She therefore decided to approach _any_ friendship with _any_ Cheerio with extreme caution and not allow herself to fully believe in their comradeship until she was sure that it was real and not just another cruel prank to further humiliate her.

Meanwhile, Quinn got home to an empty and quiet house. With her dad gone, her mother had to work a lot, and more often than not late as well. Quinn was of course happy and relieved that Russell was no longer in her or her mother's life but she felt bad for the older blonde that she had to work so much to be able to support the two of them. And despite how much she hated her father, he would always be her dad and not many days passed by without Quinn wishing for the daddy she had when she was little, back.

Unlike herself and Russell, Judy Fabray wasn't a bad person. She had made some severe mistakes, one of which she regretted and apologized for every single day, but she loved her daughter and did everything she could to give her the best life possible. That was yet another reason why Quinn felt so bad about the things she did, especially to Rachel. She felt as though she was a huge disappointment to her mother by not being the girl she truly was deep inside and at this point in her life, she truly hated herself. That's why she took some of her mother's sleeping pills before getting ready for bed that night. The only salvation from her own thoughts was sleep, which hadn't come easy lately.

Quinn was normally, just like Rachel, an excellent student with great grades and she was very strict with always doing her homework and different assignments for Glee and the Cheerios. Because of this it wasn't at all unusual that she did them Friday night, again just like Rachel. But right now there were too many things going on in her head and she hadn't slept much during this last week. So even though it was still very early and a Friday night, she decided to go to bed, not wanting to have to face her thoughts any more than absolutely necessary. And when she fell into a drug induced sleep, the last thing she thought of was the petite diva and their afternoon together.

* * *

The weekend had passed much too fast for Rachel's liking. There never was or ever had been any room for relaxing in her life. Because like she often explained, '_If you want to be a star, you have to become the best you can possibly be_' so that's what Rachel had been doing for her whole life. It had now only been two weeks since she decided to try to become a Cheerio, and only one since she achieved that goal. So now when she had cheerleading as well as all of her other activities she was going on full capacity every waking minute of her day. On a slow week Sue only had them suffer through three practices, not including the more than occasional weekend practices, so of course she had wondered how long she would be able to keep this up before being forced to quit something. This was not now though, so Rachel refused to allow herself to think about her future choice and what further changes it might cause in her life.

However none of this really mattered to Rachel right now. She was finally safe from slushies and hurtful comments (at least in the open) and despite the hatred many of the Cheerios and other students still felt towards her, she was no longer afraid when she was in school. She even hoped that she finally might get some good high school experiences.

This was why she was practically beaming when she walked through the doors and into the halls Monday morning. She was nervous about meeting Quinn and the others today, but there was a very small part of her that thought that things with Quinn would continue like they ended Friday. She should have known better.

She didn't see Quinn walking through the hall with Santana and Brittany behind her, and she didn't see how Quinn looked this morning. Her two best friends did however, and they were both worried. The blonde looked even more tired than she had at the end of the previous week. She was irascible and snapped at anyone who tried to talk to her or even eyed her in the wrong way.

Rachel was finishing stuffing her books in her backpack when she saw the three girls about to walk past her. She smiled shyly and waved before attempting to greet the girls.

"Good morning fellow Cheeri-" That was as far as Rachel got before Quinn's shoulder hit her chest like if it was an out of control eighteen-wheeler, sending her crashing into the lockers. Quinn locked back over her shoulder and glared at Rachel.

"Watch it Berry! People are walking here." Quinn spat back at her, Santana laughed at how hurt the diva looked and Brittany just looked pained and followed Quinn's every move.

Rachel rubbed the back of her head; she had hit the lockers hard. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the psychological pain Quinn had so easily just caused her. The incredibly small hope Friday afternoon with Quinn had lit had now been completely obliterated and she felt so stupid for ever even thinking Quinn would want to be friends with her, if only for a second.

It was a given that Rachel felt disappointed, but she also knew that what had happened was probably for the best. Truth be told she most likely wasn't mentally ready to pursue a friendship with any of them yet either way. So for now, she decided to just be their teammate. She also figured that a better use of her time would be to focus her energy on getting her friendships with the other Gleeks back to what it had been not that long ago.

* * *

The days went by without anything of importance happening. Rachel continued to work hard with school, Glee and the Cheerios, which was something she liked more and more for every practice, especially now that the other cheerleaders didn't do anything malicious to her.

At the end of the week Quinn still looked completely exhausted and she seemed to just walk to halls of the school aimlessly, deep in thought. Despite several tries, neither Santana nor Brittany could get her to open up and barely even to acknowledge them. Quinn was still irritable but mostly tried to ignore people who otherwise might have upset her, in particular Rachel. The two girls hadn't talked all week excepts if they were required to do so for Glee or the Cheerios.

Rachel had made a promise to herself not let Quinn or what she did occupy her thoughts, but she was concerned for the blonde. Nonetheless, seeing as they weren't friends she didn't know how to approach or help her. It seemed to her like the blonde had suddenly disappeared into herself and no one knew how to get her out of there, at least not the ones who cared about her.

On a happier note, Rachel was making great progress with the Gleeks which made the Glee club's practices much more enjoyable for Rachel. She was of course still required to eat with the other Cheerios, but other than that she spent as much time with her only friends as she could. She had somehow even successfully convinced Finn that a friendship between them was favorable, even if he once (or thrice) again had tried to talk her into getting back together with him.

All in all time flew by for Rachel and before she knew it, she had been a cheerleader for almost one and a half months. And although she was now really good friends with the Gleeks (except for the other three, or mostly two, cheerleaders), she was still only a teammate to the Cheerios. Little did she know that things were about to change significantly, and that it would all start today.

* * *

This day had started like any other over the last couple of weeks. Rachel got up early, exercised on her elliptical (yes, she still did that even with the extra training being a Cheerio provided), got to school and had the some more or less interesting classes, and during lunch she had talked some with Brittany like she often did. She had grown to like the blonde and the talks they had from time to time. The tall girl was after all still the only one of the cheerleaders that actually talked to her if not being forced to do so during practice, and let's not forget that she was always nice too. Even Glee had been especially good today. Sure, Mr. Schue still hindered her by giving away _her_ solos and disagreeing about which songs to perform way too often, but today Rachel had been given a new solo she might get to sing at their next competition, and then she had performed a Broadway medley she had been working on for the better part of two weeks. It had been a complete success according to herself, and the others seemed to like it too.

Rachel was actually happy when she got to cheerleading practice that afternoon. Sue on the other hand was in a foul mood and yelled at them before they even got a chance to do something incorrectly. But not even this or the not so discreet glares she constantly got from some of the girls could bring Rachel down from her high, which probably should have made her extra careful.

Rachel joining the Cheerios had been good for Sue in more ways than just angering Will. The latest gain was that she finally had enough girls to add another level in her human pyramid, which at this point had become dangerously high. Because Rachel was very small and not sturdy enough to be at a level more suitable for her status at the Cheerios, she had been put very high up in the pyramid, just below Quinn at the top even.

This had caused a lot of arguing and verbal fights in the group, but Sue always gets what she want and if Rachel had to be at the top for that to happen, then so be it. Rachel had after the first time been nervous that this new turn of event would turn the other cheerleaders even further against her but luckily for her, Quinn's orders were as much a law at WMHS as Sue's, and since they were still valid she got out of that situation without any harm being done to her.

Rachel was currently climbing to the top, forcing herself not to look down. Heights scared her quite a bit and the top of a human pyramid wasn't normally a place she would want to spend any time at, but she knew better than to question Sue's '_request_' as the coach had put it. Said coach and Quinn was standing to the side, trying to spot any weaknesses in the structure and making sure everyone knew their places and were fast enough.

Unluckily for Rachel, she wasn't fast enough, and because the girl who had the spot next to the diva at the second level from the top was apparently experienced in climbing pyramids, Rachel seemed even slower. Both Quinn and Sue yelled at her to be faster, to stop acting like a sloth and get up there. Swallowing back her fear, she quickened her pace and was soon ready to hoist herself up on the two girls below her with the places below her.

Quinn had at that moment turned to their coach to confirm the quality of the pyramid when she heard something that causes her heart to skip a beat. Rachel was making some noises that could only mean one thing, that she was losing her balance. Before she even had fully turned her head towards the diva, Quinn began running towards the back of the pyramid. When she finally laid her eyes on the diva she panicked. Rachel had obviously failed to get up and was now leaning so far back that the question was not if she was going to fall, but rather which tenth of a second she was going to do it. All the other girls were in the pyramid and unable to help, perhaps also unwilling in certain cases, so it was up to Quinn to help the brunette.

Then it happened. Rachel lost contact with the girl she had previously been anchored to and fell backwards towards the unprotected wooden floor. It was obvious from the start that she had absolutely no control in the air and that there was a high risk of serious injuries. The idea of Rachel's life being in danger was what finally made Quinn realize what all the confusing thoughts she had been having since Rachel joined the squad had really been about. What all the years of torture stemmed from and why she never had wanted to be near the brunette.

The world was going in slow motion for Quinn. She saw Rachel falling way too quickly towards the floor and she knew that she wasn't fast enough to reach her in time. Rachel would crash and by the look of it, her head would take the first blow. Quinn panicked and screamed for Rachel, reaching for her with her arms, as if she was hoping they would suddenly grow á la Mr. Fantastic, and be able to catch her.

The rest of the Cheerios tried the best they could to look back to see what would happen to the falling girl, everyone except Brittany. She had looked at Quinn the whole time, and just like Quinn she finally knew why Quinn had been acting the way she had, the suspicions she had gotten after the locker-room incident had at last been confirmed.

Rachel screamed in terror as she plummeted towards the floor and desperately tried to turn in the air to avoid landing in a life-threatening way. By the time Rachel was just over a yard above the floor, Quinn had already tears in her eyes. She didn't want to lose the diva, and especially not now when she knew why she had done all the things she had.

Quinn screamed out Rachel's name one last time as she saw Rachel hit the ground.

She saw her land on her head and left shoulder.

She saw Rachel's neck bend in a very unnatural way.

She heard a deafening snapping sound as some form of bone broke or left its normal position.

And just like that, Rachel's screams were no longer heard...

* * *

**Author's note #2:** Okay, since this is a Faberry story you will all have to pretend that you don't know that Rachel will be fine in the end, and that you really are worried for her life. The suspense will be greater if you do this, you know?  
Please don't forget to review, every single one of them means the world to me. Thoughts about the story, things I did well or bad, ideas, anything really, please click on the button and write me a few words.  
And if I take this long again, don't hesitate to send me an angry PM telling me to get my foot out of my... you know what.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hand in hand  
Pairing:** Quinn/Rachel  
**Author's note:** I'm once again sorry for the wait. School was crazy hectic and then in the middle of it my computer crashed and it took longer than I thought to find a new one. This is also the reason why I haven't replied to all off your reviews yet. I'll get on that after my final tomorrow afternoon. Speaking of reviews... the response to my last chapter was out of this world! A million thanks to everyone who took the time to review, but also a big thank you to all who read and put it on alert etc. You are all amazing. I'm also very happy that you decided to play along with my request in the note at the end of last chapter; hopefully that will make this chapter a little more uncertain. I hope you enjoy and please review.

* * *

_Quinn screamed out Rachel's name one last time as she saw Rachel hit the ground. _

_She saw her land on her head and left shoulder. _

_She saw Rachel's neck bend in a very unnatural way._

_She heard a deafening snapping sound as some sort of bone broke or left its normal position._

_And just like that, Rachel's screams were no longer heard..._

Quinn could not fathom what had just happened. One minute she saw Rachel about to fall from the pyramid, then she was running towards her and just like that, she knew, she was in love with Rachel Berry, the biggest diva the state of Ohio had ever known, the biggest loser at their school. However at that moment nothing about that mattered. All that did was that Quinn was in love with her and that she needed to get the chance to tell Rachel this, to explain everything and make it better for her. She couldn't die, she had to stay alive, stay alive with Quinn so that she could make the brunette happy.

Before Quinn had even finished that thought, she was sliding the last couple of yards over the floor towards Rachel's still body. She quickly got up on her knees and frantically searched for a pulse or any life sign. Unfortunately she was too anxious and her hands were shaking, making the task near impossible. If she had paid any attention to anything except Rachel, she would have noticed the other Cheerios professionally and quickly disassemble the pyramid and together with their coach gathering around the two other girls. It was only then that Quinn, still trying to make sure Rachel was alive, noticed them. Feeling the panic take a hold of her she yelled at the top of her lungs.

"For the love of God, can somebody call an ambulance!" At first no one moved so Quinn turned her head and ended her order. "NOW!" Several girls ran towards their bags to fetch their phones and call for help.

Quinn had now given up on finding a pulse on the diva, her hands shaking too much to be able to do that. Instead she had positioned her head so that her cheek was just above Rachel's mouth and nose, so that she could hopefully feel her breathing. She was also looking intently at the other girl's chest to detect any movement. She had to tell herself not focus on her breasts, but it proved harder than she thought, even under the circumstances; she had to admit now that she looked that the girl had beautiful breasts. However it was probably because she was so enticed by them that she finally saw movement. _'She's breathing, she's alive. Thank you God!'_ Quinn thought and sighed.

On the other hand, Rachel was still unconscious and Quinn saw that her left shoulder was at least dislocated and she had seen the hit her head and neck had taken when landing, or perhaps rather crashing. She looked up and searched for help. Finding what she was looking for she called out.

"Santana, come here and keep her head steady. We don't know what kind of trauma her neck has suffered and if she wakes up we don't want her to move it, okay?" Santana quickly got down on her knees and took a light but secure grip of the brunette's head, but didn't say anything.

Truth be told Santana was terrified. Sure she had for a long time made Rachel's life a living hell but she didn't actually want her to die. She felt a hand on her shoulder and found Brittany now by her side. They locked eyes with each other and they both tried to soothe each other's worries. They then looked over to Quinn and saw that the blonde was close to tears, still checking for additional injuries. Quinn had already noticed that Rachel's left shoulder was dislocated but as far as she could tell, she seemed to be otherwise fine, and for the first time she was grateful for Sue's hard training in understanding and surviving anything that could put their spots on the squad at jeopardy.

* * *

When Rachel slowly woke up she was confused to say the least. She had neither the willpower nor the energy to open her eyes, so everything was dark and she could instead focus on getting her bearings right. The first thing she thought when she regained the ability to construct coherent thoughts was '_Please shut up..._' She heard a lot of noise in the distance, but was unable to interpret any of it, but it was most definitely too loud and in some of the noise she might even have detected a hint of... what was it... trepidation was the first word that popped up in her head.

A while later (Rachel had no sense of time what so ever at that point) she started to try and remember what had happened. She remembered being at cheerleading practice, and that she was climbing up the pyramid and then… She actually didn't know what happened after that, which freaked her out a little.

At the same time she began feeling the pain her body was signaling that she was supposed to be feeling. It started with her head and then continued down to her neck, and Rachel got scared. She had no recollection of what had happened and now she was in great pain. She freaked out even more when more parts of her body started hurting and by the time the pain reached her left shoulder, it was so unbearable that tears leaked through her closed eyelids.

It didn't take long before Rachel heard another, new noise. This time it was closer and by the amount of worry she distinguished in it she was able to draw the conclusion that it definitely had to be a voice. The voice was sweet, almost angelic and after a couple of tries she was able to distinguish her name being repeated over and over with some other stuff in between.

"Rachel... Rachel... Rachel..." The voice was faint and Rachel wanted to ask whoever was talking to start articulate, but just as her eyelids still wouldn't open, neither did her mouth. After another minute or so she was able to understand a little more of it.

"Rachel... hear... squeeze... hand..." She was able to understand that the speaker wanted her to show that she was conscious, or at least somewhat conscious. So she tried to close one of her hands, but it wasn't until it was too late that she realized that she had tried to use her left hand. The pain intensified and more tears found their way through her closed eyes. She heard the voice talk to her again.

"No sweetie... right hand... left... injured..." Rachel started to become annoyed with not understanding what was being said but still tried her best to obey the voice.

So she focused on her right hand and squeezed it shut, feeling something in the way of closing it fully. She then heard a sigh of relief and then a thumb wiping away some tears on her cheeks. She also felt two hands preventing her from moving her head. Not feeling completely comfortable with the restrain she tried to move it slightly but was immediately reprimanded and told not to move, or at least that's what she figured she was told.

Rachel could still not remember what had happened so she made the decision to try and open her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered a little but when she had almost succeeded she had to close them again as the light was too bright. She felt two hands being placed over her eyes, only leaving a small gap between them and Rachel's cheeks and then she heard the soft voice again.

"Try again sweetie." And so Rachel did try again. She tentatively began open her eyes again and the shade the other person's hands were providing helped a lot. When her eyes were finally fully open the first thing she saw was beautiful hazel eyes belonging to Quinn. They were filled with worry but also some relief.

"Hey Rachel. How are you feeling?" The blonde asked her softly. Rachel opened her mouth and cleared her throat nut then forcefully closed her eyes as this act caused even more pain. Quinn quickly stroked the diva's cheek before shading her eyes again and waited for Rachel to look at her again. After a few seconds the brunette did so and was yet again met with Quinn's concerned look. The blonde smiled at her and leaned close, speaking softly to her.

"You shouldn't move Rach. You fell from the pyramid and landed badly, and you might be severely hurt. Do you remember this happening?" And Rachel did remember now when being told. The fear from the fall come back to her and caused her heartbeat to speed up and breathing to hitch. Yet she still answered with an '_mm_' and she soon calmed down a bit. Quinn then continued to explain the situation for the diva.

"We've called for an ambulance and it should be here any minute now. We don't know exactly how hurt you are, but you landed on your head and left shoulder and this is why San is holding your head still, okay?" Rachel looked up and saw Santana actually looking scared which freaked Rachel out even more. It had to be bad if Santana Lopez looked like that. When Rachel looked back at Quinn the blonde continued.

"Your left shoulder is dislocated, but I don't think anything is broken there..." Rachel noticed the pause but tried not to think about it. "Normally we would have popped it back into its socket right away because it you don't do that within 30 minutes, it will swell up and you'll need muscle relaxations. However since we don't know the condition of your neck and head, we won't do that, okay?" Rachel again gave the blonde an '_mm_' in response.

During the next couple of minutes the whole place was dead silent. Most of the Cheerios were either standing close to Rachel, and the three girls watching over her, or sitting at the bleachers watching them. Even Sue was silent but she did look proud of Quinn for being such an splendid captain.

Soon sirens were heard in the distance and several girls sighed in relief. It was a good thing that their practice was after school, otherwise every student in that whole place would flock at the scene. Not long after that a man and a woman came running through the doors with a gurney. Quinn moved out of the way while the paramedics examined Rachel. Santana was still holding onto Rachel's head until the woman took out a cervical collar and carefully placed it around Rachel's neck.

Rachel was still processing everything that was happening and was too afraid to talk so every question the paramedics asked, Quinn answered. When doing what they could they slipped the brunette girl onto the gurney, but before they could start moving Quinn spoke.

"I'm coming with you. Someone needs to be with her and I know the most about what happened." Quinn was determined, but behind her Sue came up, laid a hand on her shoulder and spoke surprisingly soft to the girl.

"There's nothing more you can do Fabray." Quinn looked at the woman with watery eyes, but before she could reply, Sue continued. "Besides, practice doesn't stop just because of one little accident." Quinn's eyes were instantly filled with pure fury and she yelled at her coach.

"Screw you! I'm the captain of this squad and it's my job to make sure that my girls are alright, and if you have a problem with that then you can just kick me out of the team, because whether you like it or not, I'm going." Although she was angry she didn't want to be disrespectful so she added a '_Coach_' at the end. They stared at one another for a few seconds before the male paramedic drew their attention towards himself and the injured girl.

"We don't have time for this! We need to get this girl to the hospital right away, so either you're coming with us now or we're leaving." Quinn gave one final look at her coach before walking towards the trio.

"I'm coming." Sue pursed her lips but sighed in defeat, she couldn't afford to lose Quinn again.

"Fine, but you are going to run laps till you puke for this." Quinn just waved her hand dismissively before running away with the paramedics, holding Rachel's (right) hand the whole way to the ambulance. The last thing she heard was Sue yelling at the rest to continue. Quinn knew that Sue was concerned about Rachel, she was after all one of the best cheerleaders she had, but she also knew that the woman couldn't show any weaknesses, she had a reputation to uphold after all.

* * *

The ride to the hospital was quiet but Quinn was clutching Rachel's hand the whole way, drawing slow circles on the back of it, and also looked her in her eyes, and Rachel looked back, searching for any amount of comfort the blonde could give her. Rachel had finally been able to speak again and answered the paramedic's question as best she could, but without looking away from Quinn's eyes.

Quinn tried to be strong for the other girl but it was so hard, seeing as she was still afraid that she might lose Rachel... the girl she had just found out she was in love with. Unfortunately the drive was too short for her to do any deeper soul-searching, and before she knew it they had arrived at the hospital and Rachel was hurriedly rolled through some doors that Quinn was not allowed through. The girls held each other's eyes until the doors closed and then a nurse came up to Quinn.

She asked her some questions about Rachel and what had happened, so Quinn explained it all again. When she was done she asked a final question.

"Are you family or just her friend?" Quinn looked pained because that was a much more difficult question than the nurse could ever imagine, but never the less Quinn answered.

"Friend..." The word was just above a whisper but the nurse heard and nodded.

"Have you notified her parents?" Quinn shook her head.

"Do you want to call them or do you prefer if we handle it?" Quinn thought for a moment but then with a determined voice she answered.

"I want to do it, but I left my phone back at the gym, do you have one I could use?"

"Of course dear." The nurse led her to a room and showed her the phone, and then left to give the girl some privacy. But before she could leave, Quinn faced her and asked uncertainly.

"Do I get to know what's going on with her even though I'm not family?" The nurse smiled at her.

"Until her parents get here I don't see any harm in that, but then it's up to them. But I'm sure they will tell their daughter's friend how she is so you shouldn't worry." The woman then walked out and Quinn sighed and thought to herself, '_I'm not so sure that they will be very happy to see me or want to tell me what's going on._'

She then called the local telephone exchange to get Rachel's home number because she didn't know it, and she didn't know Rachel's fathers' names so she couldn't ask about their cell phone numbers. She got the number thanks to the name and the address and soon found herself waiting for one of the Berry men to pick up; she just hoped they were home.

After the second ring a man answered.

"Hello?" Quinn was suddenly very nervous but her feelings were really not the issue here so she pushed away everything except the task she had at hand.

"Mr. Berry. Hi... my name is Quinn Fabray, I'm-" That's as far as she got before being interrupted.

"I am aware of who you are Quinn." His voice was stern and far from happy. "What do you want? Rachel is not home yet so you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to continue bullying her." His words stung, but Quinn couldn't blame him for saying them. Sure she hadn't actually done anything mean to the diva for a couple of weeks now, but that did not change what she had done in the past.

"I know you hate me and you have every right to, but just this once I ask you to overlook that because something happened at practice today, Rachel got hurt." Quinn could almost hear to color drain from the man's face, and when he didn't respond Quinn continued to explain what had happen.

"Rachel fell from the pyramid. Her left shoulder is dislocated and she hit her head pretty hard. I don't know the extent of her injuries but we are at the hospital now so you and your husband should get here as soon as possible." Quinn heard the phone click and then everything was silent again. She put the phone down and leaned at the wall, slowly sliding down to a sitting position where she pulled her knees to her chest and started to cry, the situation finally hitting her with full force.

* * *

A while later when she had calmed down, she found her way to the waiting room to wait for news on Rachel's condition and her fathers. She didn't have to wait long though; less than ten minutes later the two men walked in, spotting Quinn and making their way towards her.

One of them was just about to yell at her when they noticed that she had been crying. They sat down and looked at her, waiting for her to make a move. Quinn shifted in her seat a couple of times before looking up at them.

"She fell, I swear! No one did anything. She was just in too much of a hurry I think..." Quinn looked like she was about to cry again and both men put one hand each on her shoulders, squeezing gently.

"It's okay Quinn. We can discuss all this when she is fine again. Speaking of, have you heard anything yet?" There was a slight tremor in the man's voice but Quinn didn't want to get into any hard discussions with the men so she remained silent (only shaking her head in response), as did the two Berry men.

It felt like a lifetime went by before a doctor approached the trio. All three immediately stood up and looked expectantly and slightly scared of what they might hear. The doctor stood in front of them and looked each of them into their eyes before addressing them.

"She is going to be just fine." Rachel's fathers both sighed in relief and Quinn sagged to her knees and released a breath she didn't know she was holding. One of Rachel's fathers lifted her up and supported her since she was unable to stand on her own two legs at that moment. When the group was ready, the doctor continued.

"Just as Miss Fabray suspected her left shoulder is dislocated but remarkably her arm is otherwise fine. And what's even more remarkable is that her neck and head have suffered close to no damage at all. She didn't even get a concussion. Her neck will be stiff for about a week and she will have to have her arm in a sling for three weeks and she certainly must take it easy for a while, but she will be just fine." Quinn was still being held up when the Berry men hugged and it was she who made the next move.

"Is... is she awake?" Rachel's fathers let go of each other and looked at the doctor again.

"She is sleeping right now. We had to sedate her but she should wake up within an hour. You can go see her; she's in room 624." The man smiled and walked away.

The two Berry men started to walk too when Quinn tried to get their attention.

"Um. I realize that I'm not your favorite person in the world but if you'll let me, I would really like to see her." The men looked at each other, seemingly thinking it through.

"Wait here. Once she wakes up and we've had a chance to talk to her, we'll ask her about it and let her decide, okay?" Quinn nodded and walked over to one of the uncomfortable waiting-chairs to hospital offerd and sat down, preparing herself for the torturous wait.

* * *

The minutes passed by slowly and Quinn's only company was her own thoughts, currently solely revolving around a tiny and injured brunette girl who she so desperately wanted to see, so that she would know without a doubt that she was going to be okay again. She didn't have her cell phone or any textbooks from school so there was really no escape, so it was time to deal.

She hadn't had any time to go through her newfound feelings yet other than to establish that her feelings were very real. In a way it all made sense now; the years of bullying, refusing every request of a friendship (or even truce) from the girl and why she always had been so fascinated with her. She was repressed, too scared to face who she was, who she was going to be for the rest of her life.

She of course didn't have any problems with homosexuality; Kurt could be nice when he wasn't too much of a diva, and hello, Santana and Brittany anyone. Those two might just be bi, Quinn wasn't sure, but they definitely had a thing (or forty-seven or something up that alley) for each other. However when it's you, it's always so different. She would have to tell her mom at some point and having to risk being thrown out again, she was, by a lot of people, going to be considered less of a human and any future children she might have would most likely have to go through what Rachel went through growing up because the world was full with cruel people, like she herself had been up to not that long ago. This was perhaps too much for her to deal with while simultaneously worry about Rachel.

She didn't cry, but she was completely wrapped up in her own thoughts, unaware of anything going on around her. And that was exactly how Rachel's Jewish father found her nearly one and a half hours after he and his husband had left her to go see their little girl. He sighed at the sight of the faraway blonde and then walked over and sat down next to her. He put a hand on one of hers and gave it a gentle squeeze, effectively bringing Quinn back from wherever she had been. Quinn looked at the man, waiting for him to say something, needing him to confirm that Rachel was okay. She didn't have to wait very long.

"As the doctor said she is going to be fine." Quinn sighed in relief but otherwise remained quiet. "She is awake and has agreed to let you see her, but know that neither me nor my husband is very happy about it." Quinn looked away for just a second, feeling how hard it was to look at him when he was just telling the truth.

"However, seeing as you took good care of her today and got her here and she is okay with it, we will allow it while we sign her discharge papers and have a final chat with her doctor." Quinn stood up and took a step before looking at the man again who nodded at her, giving her the green light.

It felt like she had crossed the globe by the time she found herself standing outside of Rachel's door. She knocked and opened it slightly. Rachel and her other father looked at her, and motioned her to come in. She saw Rachel lying in a bed with her left arm in a sling and another cervical collar around her neck. Then Rachel's father spoke.

"I'll give you two some privacy. When we're done we'll go home, okay sweetie?" Rachel nodded and watched him leaving her alone with Quinn. When the door was closed she looked at the blonde, not really sure why Quinn wanted to see her so badly. After an uncomfortable minute in silence Quinn walked over and sat down in a chair standing next to the bed.

"So you get to go home right away, that's good news." She offered a small smile to the diva.

"I guess. But this will severely hinder my life. I'll have to wear this collar for up to three days and the sling for three weeks. I'll also have to start using drugs to ease the pain so I'm a bit worried about that. Apparently my fathers decided that natural medicines weren't good enough, even after I had explained at length that they most certainly are." Quinn's smile grew; if Rachel was already well enough to ramble then it wouldn't be long before she was back to normal.

"Well at least you're alive. That's all we could ever want, right?" Quinn took hold of Rachel's good hand and stroked it with her thumb. Rachel looked at their hands for a few seconds before she pulled it away and looked away.

Quinn swallowed hard. She couldn't blame the girl for being wary around her after everything she had done to her, but she needed to know how sorry she was and that she was ready to finally treat her like the wonderful person she was.

They spent the next couple of minutes in silence. Now that Quinn was finally there her mind refused to come up with anything to say and Rachel was obviously not sure about the situation and Quinn's motives. Finally Rachel said.

"Thank you for taking care of me and accompanying me here. It was very comforting and I appreciated it immensely." Rachel smiled and Quinn's heart skipped a beat. How had she never realized her feelings before when it felt so right? She didn't have an answer for that but she that she had them now and she'd be damned if she didn't do something about them. Realizing that she hadn't replied yet she looked up at Rachel.

"Don't mention it. Despite everything I've ever done to you I've never wanted you to get hut, so I'm just glad you're okay." Another minute went by without either one of them saying anything, but this time the silence was much more comfortable. Then they heard the voices of Rachel's fathers approaching the room and Quinn knew that her time was up.

She boldly grabbed Rachel's hand again and this time Rachel didn't retract it. Quinn smiled and then asked the other girl.

"Are you still coming to school tomorrow?"

"I guess. Unless something drastically changes between now and tomorrow of course." Quinn smiled at the answer.

"Good. Just make sure you'll come to Glee tomorrow." Quinn leaned in and kissed Rachel's forehead and then backed towards the door. But Rachel had to ask.

"What's so special about Glee?" Quinn gave her a secretive smile, grabbed to doorknob and said.

"You'll see. Just be there." Rachel nodded, still in a bit of a haze from the surprising kiss. "Fell better sweetie, bye." And just like that she was out the door, saying goodbye to Rachel's dads when she passed them. She had decided that she would act on her feelings, and she might just know the perfect way to woo Rachel Berry. All that was needed now was some hard work and she knew everything would turn out alright for them.

If only she had stopped to think and not just acted on an impulse...

* * *

**Note #2:** Thanks for reading, don't forget to leave your thoughts (no matter what they might be), if you have the time. You know they are very appreciated so please press the little button. Take care everybody!


	9. Chapter 9

**So I'm finally back. I can't think of a proper way of letting you know how sorry I am. Things just didn't happen the way I thought they were this summer, and whatever muse I have, I think fell into a coma or something. I'm not sure people will still be interested after all this time but I hope some of you haven't given up on this, because thanks to you, I haven't.  
I really just want to thank everyone who reads, and especially those of you who review. Over 100 for 8 chapters. I'll tell you that it's thanks to you that this story survived the first couple of chapters and is still going strong, even when I take forever uploading a new chapter.  
Just in case you've forgot what happened last time, here's a recap: Rachel fell from the pyramid at cheerleading practice which made Quinn realize her feelings for her. After getting to talk to Rachel at the hospital, Quinn decided to tell her and is now on her way home to figure out the details on how to do it.  
One last thing. I suck at choosing songs so when you come to that part just imagine it being a prefect song, okay?  
And now, I hope you enjoy the fairly long chapter 9.**

* * *

A couple of minutes had passed since Quinn had left her, and now Rachel's fathers were done speaking with the doctor and walked into the room, smiling at their daughter.

"Hi pumpkin. Are you ready to head back home?" Rachel was still deep in thought after the kiss Quinn had just given her forehead. She wasn't completely sure if it had really happened or if it was just some strange and dared she say, wonderful dream caused by the blow to her head from earlier that afternoon. She hadn't even heard her father and it wasn't until one of them put a hand on her uninjured shoulder that she looked up, slightly startled.

"Oh, daddy, sorry, hi. I guess I was a little bit lost in thought. Would you mind repeat what you just said?" The two men looked at each other with fond smiles. Hearing their daughter already talk like that meant that there really wouldn't be any permanent damage to her head. When they turned their head back to the brunette she was smiling expectantly at them.

"We were just wondering if you're ready to go home now. We need to take you back so that you can get some rest and heal properly." Hiram said softly while stroking Rachel's hair. Rachel nodded and smiled, but then hesitated

"Just one question though. Was Quinn really here with me the whole time?" The men looked at her like they had a million questions about the one she had just asked them, but in the end decided that getting their precious girl home was far more important at the moment, so they both simply nodded. Rachel sat quiet for a minute, and contemplated the confirmation that Quinn had been there, which meant that she probably had kissed her, which meant... and that was just it, Rachel had no idea what so ever what that meant... for her or for Quinn.

She quickly realized that she wouldn't figure out anything now. Her head hurt and her fathers were waiting for her to make a move so figuring out hard questions was not going to happen right then and there, regardless of the fact that this was exactly what Rachel wanted to do. Instead she sighed in defeat and looked back up at her fathers, giving them another smile.

"Yeah, I'm ready. I just have to change, okay?" The Berry men nodded and walked out of the room to give their girl some privacy.

Fifteen minutes later Rachel was sitting in the car, dressed and slightly drowsy from the drugs she had been given right before leaving. She was lazily looking out the window, her mind wandering to a certain blonde cheerleader.

* * *

In another part of town, Quinn had just gotten home from the hospital. Driving home at been very challenging for her with all the different feelings racing through her mind, nervousness the strongest one. At every red light she had lost herself in her own thoughts, all of them containing Rachel and what she was about to do. The moment she had seen Rachel in the hospital bed she had figured out how to tell her, and all she needed to do now was decide on all the details but hey, how hard could that be. She did have all night after all.

More than one time the cars behind her had to honk to remind her that part one of her plan was that she actually still needed to get home. When she finally reached the driveway she was glad she hadn't caused an accident, or two. On the driveway she saw her mother's car which made her feel guilty, because she was going to have to ditch dinner with her mother once again, a way too common occurrence since she moved back in.

Inside she found her bag and all the other stuff she had left at school, which surprised her. The only other car was her mother's and there was no way she knew what had happened at practice, and it wasn't very likely that her things had grown legs and walked home by themselves. She walked over to the pile and found a piece of paper under her cell-phone. Unfolding the paper she was surprised to find the handwriting she recognized as Brittany's.

_Hey Q.  
I hope you took good care of Rachel today.  
When you ran away with the ambulance you forgot your stuff so I made San drive me here so that you could get them back. Your mom is super nice now that your dad is gone. She gave me a Popsicle!_

Quinn chuckled lightly at her friend, loving her for always being the person she is. She then continued to read the note.

_Oh, and I really hope that you and Rachel start to date now. You would be so hot together. I didn't tell San or anyone because this is your secret.  
Anyway, you should totally go for it.  
See you tomorrow.  
Love, B._

Quinn smiled. Of course Brittany would have figured it out. She wasn't the most intelligent friend she had, but she was incredibly smart when it came to certain things; love being the foremost of them. Quinn read the note another time and thought about how it felt that somebody knew her secret, and she decided that it felt rather good. Now she knew that she at least had one person on her side if things went terribly wrong. A single tear escaped her blinking eyes and ran down her cheek. Suddenly telling Rachel felt a little less terrifying, but still scarier than both telling her parents that she was pregnant _and_ telling Finns he wasn't the father.

She was once again so lost in thought that she didn't hear her mother approaching her from the kitchen. The older Fabray leaned on the wall, watching her daughter. She knew something was up and she wanted nothing more than for Quinn to confide in her, to trust her with her most inner thoughts. However she was doubtful when it came to that. Despite all the progress they had made since Quinn moved back in, she could still feel that Quinn was hiding some very big things about herself, and she couldn't really blame her after the upbringing she had.

Deciding that it was time to make herself known, she pushed herself from the wall and moved so that she stood behind her daughter.

"She is a very sweet girl that Brittany, taking all of your things home. I missed her visiting while you weren't living here." Quinn quickly, but not so discretely, wiped the tear away from her cheek and answered in a low voice.

"Yeah, she's great mom. The best friend a girl could ask for even." Judy smiled before continuing.

"She told me what happened at practice today." Quinn tensed up a bit at that, which didn't went by Judy unnoticed, but she let I go for now. "Is that girl going to be alright? Rachel was it?" Quinn turned to face her mother, but avoided looking into her eyes for a long time in case they would convey her inner thoughts.

"She is going to be her usual self in no time. She only got a dislocated shoulder and her neck and head will be sore for a few days." Quinn's lips displayed a small smile when her mother said Rachel's name. How she had never realized how beautiful it was, or how good it felt to say it, rather than some degrading nickname, she would never know.

Seeing Quinn react made Judy want to try and see if she could get her to open up a little bit more. She knew of Rachel and of course her voice, but she had no idea that the girl could put her smile on her daughter's face so easily or even that they were friends.

"She must be a very good friend for you to stand up to coach Sylvester like that." Seeing Quinn's eyes widen she explained. "Brittany told me that part too. It was amazingly brave of you. She is the scariest person I've ever met, and that includes your father." Judy tried to joke, but Quinn didn't even smile. If anything she just looked more uncomfortable. "Still, I'm so proud of you sweetheart. You did something truly great, and it must have been very comforting for Rachel to have a friend with her when she had to have been so scared."

All Quinn did was trying to swallow the new lump forming in her throat, and nodding in reply. She wondered if her mother would be as proud of her if she knew what was really going on with her, that she had just discovered her oppressed homosexuality and feelings for a _Jewish_ girl. She briefly wondered how her mother would react if she told her.

Would she be proud of her for figuring out who she really is? That was not very likely Quinn decided. Would she get kicked out again? With her father gone that wasn't very likely either. Would the fact that Rachel is Jewish be a problem? Again; with her father gone she didn't think so, but to be honest she had no idea what her mother thought about other religions, especially in a potential girlfriend for her daughter.

Quinn hadn't looked her mother in the eyes during their entire conversation (if you could even call it that), and Judy had noticed how Quinn towards the end had begun shifting her eyes towards every possible way out. Judy understood that nothing more would be said, so she gave up with a sigh.

"Very well. Maybe you should start with your homework and I'll come get you once dinner is ready. It should be around seven. Does that sound good sweetie?" The guilt once again made its presence known when dinner came up, and Quinn locked her eyes with her own feet.

"I'm sorry mom, but I have a lot to do tonight so if it's alright I'll just take a fruit and a sandwich up to my room." Quinn felt really bad, especially when she looked up for just half a second and saw the disappointment in her mother's eyes.

"Oh. It's fine honey, really. But if you'd like I could bring you some real food for you to eat if you don't have time to eat down here, with me." The last two of Judy's words were barely a whisper, but all of them were painfully killing her, but tonight she had to focus fully on Rachel and how she would tell the diva of her feelings for her.

"No, it's fine, I'm not that hungry anyway. Still a bit shaken up after Rachel's accident I guess." Judy nodded her head slowly, finally giving up on the matter. She watched as Quinn gathered her things and went upstairs, not walking back to the kitchen until the young girl was out of sight.

Right now she regretted not reading the note Brittany had left for Quinn. It might have helped her understand what her daughter was going through that she didn't want her mother's help with. She sighed once again and looked at a bottle of wine standing in the open for a few moments before deciding. She quickly grabbed it, uncorked it and poured the contents into the sink. She would not let alcohol destroy her second chance with her daughter.

This time would be different.

This time she would be there for her no matter what.

This time, she would be a mom...

* * *

After leaving her things in her room and getting some fruit and a sandwich to eat, and at the same time leaving her mother to once again dine alone, Quinn made her way up to her room to start working. In her mind there only existed one way to tell Rachel Berry that you're in love with her, serenading her in Glee. Sure, Quinn knew that it was ridiculously unoriginal and that it had done many times before, but at the same time it was just the romantic display of affection that the (oh how she wanted to say _her_ instead of _the_) little diva loved.

Finding the right song proved much harder than she ever would have imagined. She thought about singing some epic love song from one of the many musicals Rachel loved, but she wanted it to be a little more of her own style, or herself, in it. She wanted it to have some meaning for them, so she searched, listened, read and banged her head against her desk every now and then when she felt like just giving up.

Around 4:50 AM, after working and failing for almost 11 hours straight, a horrible rainstorm rolled in over Lima, the wind making the windows shake. Quinn lifted her head from the computer, and with tired eyes she looked through the window. She got up and stood by it, then went over and turned on her radio before sitting down on the windowsill, staring out and thought about Rachel and how she felt about her.

Thinking about them together made her feel all warm inside, and despite how tired she felt and how bad the weather was, it put a small smile on her face.

Quinn sat there for a long time, just listening to the radio and the rain against her window, and stared out into the darkness of the autumn morning. Despite the dark clouds and heavy rain, Quinn watched as the faint morning light arrived in the east. Right then a song started playing on the radio and Quinn shifted her eyes towards it and started soaking up the lyrics and music.

The song was far from perfect. It wasn't as mellow as she wanted it to be and the lyrics weren't exactly made for this situation, but if she lowered the tempo a bit it would be better than any other song she had listened to during the night. She sat back down at her computer, searched for the song, and then began working with it.

* * *

Rachel woke up early like she always did, even though her injuries prevented her from doing her morning exercise routine. She noticed the rain and sighed. Of course the weather would be bad on this particular day. She was already anxious about what the day would have in store for her. She was worried that Sylvester would kick her off the squad, and if she was honest, she really enjoyed being a cheerleader and the protection in brought her. Another thing was what people would say, if they would laugh at her for failing such a simple task as climbing up of a human pyramid. But most of all, her thoughts about the day revolved around Quinn, what her actions from the previous day meant and what she had planned for Glee.

She slowly made her way to her bathroom to get ready for the day, and to think about her last couple of arguments for convincing her fathers that it was absolutely _not_ necessary for her to stay home from school today, or any other day for that matter. Either way, no matter what her day would hold, she just knew that it would be a long and emotional day.

Dressed in her Cheerios uniform, Rachel made her way down to grab some breakfast before trying to convince her fathers to let her go, and to drive her, to school. In her current state she was not able to drive herself, and walking would take too long, especially on strong medications. She figured that none of her friends or cheerleading teammates would want to drive her so she was quite dependent on her ability to persuade the men to do what she wanted, and of course Rachel was used to getting what she wanted from them so she wasn't overly worried.

Convincing them didn't prove to be such a challenge and Rachel was soon in the car, once again looking through the window, deep in thought. When they arrived at school Rachel's dad looked at his little girl.

"Are you absolutely sure you're up for this? If you're not I would have no problem what so ever staying home with you today, making sure you don't put yourself in any danger." Rachel contemplated this for a second. Avoiding school sounded like the best idea she had heard in a long, long time, but in the end, curiosity for what would happen at Glee won.

"Thank you dad, but you know how much I hate missing school, but I promise to call if it becomes too much, okay?" Leroy didn't really like it, but knew better than to believe he could change Rachel's mind.

"Fine. Do you have your painkillers with you? And don't take too many. You're very tiny and they're awfully strong." Rachel rolled her eyes but still loved the fact that her dad (and daddy of course) loved her so much.

"Yes dad, I have them and I promise I'll be careful and that I'll call you at the first sign of hallucination." Leroy shook his head and shooed her out of the car. He stayed in the parking lot until Rachel was safely inside school and then drove away, praying that she would make it through the day.

Rachel had barely made it to her locker before she heard one of her many colorful nicknames being screamed out in anger throughout the halls. '_Sylvester,_' Rachel thought '_this can't be good._' Rachel then turned around and was met with a very scary, angry-looking Sue Sylvester. The older woman's closeness forced the brunette to back up against the lockers and by the time Sue started to talk, or rather scream, her face was mere inches away from Rachel's and left her without an escape route. Meanwhile, the commotion had started to attract students, hungry for the gossip this was going to result in.

"MAN HANDS!" Sue called into her face once again. "You pathetic, untalented, sorry excuse for a dwarf! Don't you realize what you've done by being such a loser! I'll tell you what you did. You ruined MY WHOLE YEAR! This year was going to be perfect, and land me my sixth consecutive title. Of course I don't need _you_ to do it, but your little... diva leap of faith, or whatever it was you were doing, set me back several weeks, WEEKS of training girls that couldn't do a proper split if their life depended on it." Rachel didn't dare to speak or even look away, but she could hear the other students whispering and watching the scene. After about a seconds pause Sue continued her berating.

"I promise you, flyspeck, that by the time I'm done with you, you're going to wish that that big head of yours didn't prevent your neck from snapping like a twig!" For a moment there Rachel was actually very scared that Sue was about to finish the work herself, but instead she finished her off in another way.

"I want you to hand in your uniform dry-cleaned by the end of tomorrow. You're done as a cheerleader. Now get out of my sight, or even better, get out of my hallway! Go on, run away to Buttchin and sing a sad little song about it." Rachel quickly ran away as fast as her injuries allowed her, just catching Sue's final muttering word before she was gone.

"_Pathetic._"

And then Sue was gone and the students who had been watching went back to their normal activities, and of course telling everybody in school what had happened.

* * *

Later that day Rachel found herself with Tina walking to Glee. She had during the day changed out of her cheerleading uniform and into her regular clothes, which she still had I her locker just in case. She had also thrown away her cervical collar after it had been in the way while changing. She knew it was a little bit stupid but the thing annoyed her to no end and she didn't feel that she really needed it anyway.

When the two girls entered the choir room everyone there silenced and looked at them, or rather just Rachel. They all knew what had happened, and someone had even filmed it with their phone so most of them had seen it too. Rachel had been sulking all day and no one in the club knew what to expect from her today. They all watched her as she took in the room.

Rachel quickly noticed the absence of Quinn and didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed. She looked down for a moment to collect her thoughts, and then she addressed her teammates.

"I take it from your silence that you know what happened this morning. Anyone has anything to say about that?" The kids in the room stayed silent while Tina scurried to her seat and most of them avoided to even look at Rachel. Satisfied that she wouldn't have to face any rude comments she made her way to an empty seat in front of the other two Cheerios. The other kids soon began talking quietly again and Brittany leaned over to Rachel.

"I'm glad you didn't die Rach, and I'm sorry Sue kicked you off the squad. That was super harsh of her." Rachel couldn't help but smile at her, despite her bad mood. Brittany had so much love and care for others in her that it sometimes surprised Rachel that there was enough room in her body for it. To her surprise, Santana spoke before she could reply to Brittany.

"I'm not saying I'll be sad to see you go, but it was a bit harsh. That woman is one crazy bitch" Rachel completely lost her words. Had Santana Lopez really just been nice to her? She quickly recovered and shut her mouth which had just opened wide from the surprise, and addressed the girls.

"Um, thank you Santana, and thank you very much for your concern Brittany, and I'm glad I didn't die too." Rachel then turned her had back to await Mr. Schue but soon turned back.

"Hey. I haven't seen Quinn today, have any of you two talked to her, or know where she is?" Both girls shook their head, neither had seen nor talked to Quinn since she and Rachel left in the ambulance the day before, but Brittany had a sly smile on her face.

"No, sorry Rachel. But I'm sure she'll be around." Rachel looked at the blonde in a funny way so she quickly changed the subject.

"Do you have a diary Rachel?"

"Yes... but I don't use it much. I prefer to sing about my feelings."

"Well I was just thinking that you probably have a lot of confusing thoughts after what happened yesterday and sometimes when you have something on your mind that you can't talk to anyone about, or sing about, it helps to write about it. Maybe you could try that if things become too much, you know?"

"Thanks, I guess. I'll keep that in mind." Confident that they were done Rachel began to turn her head back again, but Brittany continued.

"I have a diary I write in every night. Well almost every night." She said and winked at Santana who actually blushed. "I bought it to keep secrets from my computer." The whole room fell quiet and everyone looked at her. Santana then gave them one of her death glares to let them know not to say anything about it.

Luckily Mr. Schuester chose that exact moment to arrive, late as always, to start the class.

"Okay everybody, I'm sorry I'm late but let's not dwell on it because we have a lot to do today and-" That's when Quinn came bursting through the door, breathing heavily and looking both utterly exhausted and determined.

* * *

Quinn hadn't realized how late it was but by the time she was finally finished with the song. She had missed all of her classes and was running late for Glee. She hurriedly collected her things and ran downstairs, out through the door and to her car. She then raced all the way to school, parked at the bus stop (who cared about fines when you're about to tell the girl you love how you really feel about her) and then made her way to the choir room.

When Quinn came through the door she found every pair of eyes on her and she looked around, feeling her nerves getting the better of her.

"Hello Quinn. Nice of you to join us today." Will greeted her and Quinn gave him a nod in return. "If you'll just take your seat we can-" And again he was cut off.

"I'm sorry Mr. Schue, but I you don't mind I have something I would really like to sing before we start today."

"Umm, sure Quinn. I always encourage you to express yourself through song so I guess we can wait a few minutes before we begin. Go for it." Quinn thanked him and then went to Brad and the band to hand them the notes. She had for a brief moment during the morning thought about asking Puck to play. His guitar would suit well but she came to the realization that having the father of your child helping to tell Rachel that she's in love with her might not be the best idea.

Quinn was now really nervous and kept fixing her hair with one hand and smoothing out her clothes with the other while trying to calm down. Eventually she felt ready to begin.

"Alright. So this is an acoustic, soft version of '_I remember you_' by Skid Row, and with this song I just want to say... Rachel," Rachel looked up in surprise "I'm so sorry for everything I've ever done to you. You never deserved any of it and I hope that you after this sing might understand why I did what I did, even if it's not an excuse, but I'm sorry Rachel... for everything." Quinn then signaled the band to begin and then locked eyes with Rachel.

_Woke up to the sound of pouring rain  
__The wind would whisper and I'd think of you  
__And all the tears you cried, that called my name  
__And when you needed me I came through_

Already after the first verse she had the attention of the whole room. Rachel wasn't actually familiar with this particular song but she soaked up every beautiful word Quinn sang, trying to understand what she meant by it.

_I paint a picture of the days gone by  
__When love went blind and you would make me see  
__I'd stare a lifetime into your eyes  
__So that I knew that you were there for me  
__Time after time you were there for me_

Quinn thought about all the times Rachel had tried to be there for her, but she had turned her down every time and she couldn't regret this more even if she tried. Then the chorus started and Quinn's voice became a little more powerful.

_Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand?  
__Love letters in the sand - I remember you  
__Through the sleepless nights, through every endless day  
__I wanna hear you say I remember you_

Choosing the song Quinn had thought to herself that even though they didn't _walk_ hand in hand, they did spend a lot of time holding each other's hands so she felt that it worked.

_We spent the summer with the top rolled down  
__Wished ever after would be like this  
__You said I love you babe, without a sound  
__I said I'd give up my life for just one kiss  
__I'd live for your smile and die for your kiss_

By this point there weren't a chin not dropped in the entire room, except for Brittany who smiled in support at Quinn. Rachel's mind had gone completely blank and she just stared at the singing blonde.

_Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand?  
__Love letters in the sand - I remember you  
__Through the sleepless nights, through every endless day  
__I wanna hear you say I remember you_

_We've had our share of hard times  
__But that's the price we paid  
__And through it all we kept the promise that we made  
__I swear you'll never be lonely_

Quinn silenced and let the band play the solo, while she was preparing her herself for the scariest and most important part of the song. She also tried to decipher Rachel's expression, which proved impossible.

_Woke up to the sound of pouring rain  
__Washed away a dream of you  
__But nothing else could ever take you away  
__'Cause you'll always be my dream come true  
__Oh my darling, I love you_

And there it was. Several gasps were heard but Quinn ignored them and Rachel was completely oblivious to what was happening other than what Quinn was doing. After a little while Quinn began singing again.

_Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand?  
__Love letters in the sand - I remember you  
__Through the sleepless nights, through every endless day  
__I wanna hear you say I remember you_

_Remember yesterday, walking hand in hand?  
__Love letters in the sand - I remember you  
__Through all the sleepless nights, through every endless day  
__I wanna hear you say, I remember - I remember you_

Quinn finished the last note together with the band and then looked at Rachel, panting slightly. After a few seconds of silence she said the words she needed Rachel to know.

"I'm in love with you Rachel Berry..."

And then she was met with the most deafening silence she had ever experienced while she looked at a very frozen Rachel, waiting for her to react, or even move...

* * *

**So if you like it/haven't given up on it/want me to know that you want me to continue, I promise I won't be sad if you write a review. They are the best motivation and it is thanks to them that this became more than a half-finished story of 3-4 chapter.  
Almost forgot. Many of you have commented on Quinn being all over the place and I just wanted you to know that that was the point. It's just my take on how Quinn might react when facing her true feelings about Rachel, and if you don't like it, I think Quinn is going to be less all over the place in future chapters.  
****Cheers, and thank you for reading. **


	10. Chapter 10

Hi everybody.

Unfortunately this is not an update and I apologize from the bottom of my heart for that, especially if you got your hopes up when the email arrived. If you don't care about my apology you can just back away for now or, if it would please you, check out the first chapter of my second story which I uploaded yesterday.

If you're still with me, here's what happened:

After I uploaded the last chapter things were going great, and I managed some more writing until school started throwing things at me and I was forced to abandon writing for a while. The problem was that during this time I also started having a bit of a life crisis. Of all the things to have a crisis about, it was about the fact that I was about to turn 23. I know; silly right? But I'm not going to bore you with the details. I really tried to not have it, but that failed, leaving me in a mood that didn't exactly promoted writing. This lasted throughout the slow period at school and when I got back to my normal self, school had become slightly sadistic, forcing me to spend between ten and eleven hours in school almost every day for about a month and a half. Add an hour to and from school and that I had school work to do both before I left in the mornings and after I got home late in the evenings. This left me having neither the energy nor the time to even open the document, let alone write a single word. It was brutal and that was _after_ I decided to skip one of my classes, so I think you can understand why nothing has happened on this story for a while.

After the finals were done and passed, it was Christmas and New Year, which leaved no time to write. Also, for a few weeks I've had another idea that I had to start with before I could concentrate on this story again. Last night I finished the first chapter and uploaded it so now I solemnly swear to start back up with the next chapter of this story right away. It is going to take a few days, but my hope is to have it up early next week, so please hang on a little bit longer.

A handful of you have me on author alert so you already know about the other story, but I would really like it if you guys gave it a read while I work on this. It would make me really happy if you did, but if you're worried I can tell you that you shouldn't. If you people don't say anything else, _this_ will be my main focus but I would still love it if you could tell me your thoughts about my other story too.

So check it out if you want to, or just hang on for a few more days until I get the next chapter done and uploaded. Like always I would sincerely like to thank you for all the reviews, alerts and favorites; they mean the world to me.

Until next time, take care.

- RedSnake


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